The rise of the six
by Scorpina
Summary: They have a dream now, and the six are set out to make it their own! With the support of the family, they are in pursuit of their passions. However, there is always someone waiting in the wings to step in their way...
1. Chapter 1

The rise of the Six

Chapter 1

Tempest knew it now.

Without a doubt he was going to go through with his dream. He will become a sumo wrestler and obtain the rank of Yokozuna. He announced it over dinner a few days later after his little incident at the makeshift dojo. He stood up from the table and stated. "From this moment on, I am going to train to be Yokozuna!" he said aloud.

The table fell silent for a moment. Tempest turned to his mother Melee as she appeared sort of surprise. "Well, I better up the grocery budget then…" she said offhandedly. "You have been eating more ever since you started to train."

Tempest blushed at the notion yet sighed. "The problem is no matter what I eat, I don't put on the mass like they do."

"Genetics," said Alley. "You probably will gain a little bit of weight but not enough to look like an actual sumo wrestler. Brawler genetics and all." She explained between mouthfuls. "Besides, it's not all that bad. If anything it will give you an advantage, your frame can move about easily and you will be able to avoid strikes with nimble steps."

"However…" chimed Suiryu. "If he does too much dodging, it will be worked against him. They consider that a coward and cheap move to say the least."

The table paused as all eyes came upon him. "What? I'm into sumo wrestling! Hell if I were bigger, I would have probably gone on into sumo myself!" he said and laughed. "Girls flock to those guys too, the higher the rank, the easier they come to you to say the least."

"ANYWAY" Alley said abruptly. "Your figure shouldn't matter, Tempest. As long as you can hold your own you are fine."

"Your sister is right." His father said. "Despite the fact you do not look like a traditional sumo wrestler, your statue alone will be enough to show your dominance in the ring. We still got to polish up your moves a bit, also if you are serious about this, you should ask Oni to take you on as a disciple. If that happens, you would be living in a sumo stable and not at home."

He paused and let it all sink in. "I've… never lived away from home before…"

"It's a big step, however, if you are going to do this, it's best you speak with someone who knows the industry. Just from what I have heard through others about Oni, he was a former Yokozuna himself, after his retirement, no one had become Yokozuna since… until Raiden."

"Since then, Raiden has dominated the industry. Even though he's a Neo Hero, he still wrestles from time to time. He has to since he never retired or stated he was leaving the industry. However, there are certain standards one has to reach in order to face him. No one has managed to grab that brass ring yet." Said Suiryu.

Tempest began to think long and hard over the notion. But he was already convinced, he has to see this through. He's been training for this and wouldn't know what to do with himself if he just gave up on the notion. As well, he worried what kind of message that would send to his siblings… also to his father who helped him train this far.

"HEY MY DINNER!" He snapped out of his train of thoughts as he saw Hunter staring down at an empty plate. It was full a moment ago, but then vanished before his eyes. Yet his sister Alley smirked as she ate Hunter's share without hesitation. "DAD!" he protested.

"Alley…"

"I was hungry! He was taking his dear sweet time with it!" she protested.

"Get more from the table damn it!" Hunter snapped back.

Tempest smirked to the commotion, it's not the first time she has done this either. Just yesterday she did the same to Pac! It wasn't like her to say the least, however father was keeping a close eye on her. Yuuma was now hiding his plate to ensure she didn't take his dinner!

"Can we get back to the conversation at hand please?" Tempest asked. "It's a lot to consider. There is much to do and I feel in little time to do it in. However, I have made up my mind and decided. I will see this through!" he said with great conviction.

"We will up the training then." His father announced, but then a smirk came over him. "This is going to piss off Sweet Mask to no end!"

"Why would it upset him?" asked Yuuma.

Father smirked. "Considering that your brother could possibly outshine him is one, second of all. I doubt Amai would ever be seen in a mawashi belt and loincloth, it doesn't leave much to the imagination. Third… the fact that someone related to him is doing something he would consider to be embarrassing… I can't wait to get started!"

"I'm going to beat him at his own game…" Yuuma announced. There came a stern look of determination over his face. "I'm going to show him how easily he can be replaced…"

"That's the spirit," said his mother. "But let just keep this all on the down low for now. I have no doubt everyone is going to find an interest and hobby they are just going to gravitate to."

"I've made my own clothing line," said Athena. "I actually have a meeting with a fashion designer."

The table was stunned. "Since when the hell did that happen!?" demanded Hunter.

"Well, funny story. I was at the mall a while ago looking over the clothing and stuff like that. I want to find a way to revolutionize it, since after all, clothing is one of the most wasted products in the world. So I was researching the materials when a man approached me. I had my back up since when a guy comes up to me, it's not a pleasant conversation to say the least. But, he was admiring my outfit and asked where I obtained it from. When I told him I made it, he pulled out a business card. 'We need to talk darling, you have an eye for fashion and so do I.' he said and left." The table appeared to be enthralled with the tale now.

"Who was the guy?" Alley asked.

She shrugged her shoulders, but took out the card he gave her. "Guillermo… something or other…"

"Guillermo Vestor!?" demanded mother.

"You heard of him?"

"He's the top fashion designer in all the supercontinent… he's the one responsible for dressing Amai Mask half the time." She explained.

Yuuma began to smirk. "Is it just me, or is somehow the universe shinning on all of us right now?" he asked as the smile on this lips grew.

"I want you to think this carefully Yuuma. Just because you could make his life a living hell, doesn't mean you should." Mother warned.

He was rather upset to the advice. "But mom!" he protested.

"Kid, listen to her, because I was just as tempted as you were." His father chimed in. Tempest listened as she explained that despite the fact that they could so something like this to Amai Mask, doesn't make it right.

"You need to look at the positive side of all of this. You are still together with your siblings, you have a wonderful family and a roof over your head. You are able to explore different options for yourself to find what makes you passionate about your path. Had it been his way, he may have forced you down a one way path when you want to go another." She explained.

Tempest watched as Yuuma thought it over. "Goddamn it, how does she do it!?"

His father snorted. "If you figure it out, I would like a hint."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The next morning, Garou decided to follow Tempest on his training regiment. Besides the sumo workout he's been doing, Tempest is also running up and down the stairs of the mountain and then, he does a few laps around the city. "This is why you aren't gaining weight." Garou stated as he tagged along.

Tempest smirked. "I am still not use to having legs yet dad. I have to keep them strong so I know I am ready to use them… I do admit, I miss my serpent form a lot."

Garou nodded, ever since Tempest told him how he wanted to try being a sumo wrestler, he agreed. But he also noticed something else. When he trained the six, if they spent all day working out, they grew tired and would instantly revert to their true selves. However, the next day when they exercised again, he found that they were back to square one. When he had Tempest no longer do that, he saw the difference was night and day. So, from that moment on, he insisted that Tempest doesn't change back after working out.

So far his strength has grown and continues to do so. Just last week, Garou declared he was as strong as Drax, and that kid had power behind him thanks to his time as a snake! But now, Tempest has surpassed him, and was now on the cusp of Amai's strength without summoning the veins!

He didn't say anything yet, however he knows he must keep an eye out for Tempest and ensure he knows how to control his power.

He has gone back a few times to the makeshift dojo at the community school, however he doesn't participate. Garou has watched him from the window and even snuck in a few times hiding under a long trench coat and strange hats. Yet recently, he saw the other sumos eyeing him oddly. He has disrupted their training. Garou was there when he knocked the one flat on his ass, Ryo was going to be trouble.

As Tempest watched on, Garou watched him. He has become rather observant to say the least, perhaps he has been studying their movements and keeping a mental record as to who is capable of what.

"Dad, I'll be right back."

Garou snapped out of his blank stare as he found himself standing before the school, there were some of the sumo wrestlers out training when Tempest decided to approach. Those outside were surprised to see him. "Oh, hey kid!"

"Hi… Is Oni around?" he asked.

"He's inside, somewhere. Don't quite know where though."

"That's fine… I'll go find him."

Garou kept his distance, however he has been keeping and eye on Tempest through the sky light in the gym. With that, he kept himself out of sight until he was able to take to the sky and land on the roof without anyone noticing, from there, he looked down and peered in as Tempest walked into the gym. There was no one from the public watching the practice this time, however, the sumo wrestlers within began to gather around attempting to block Tempest from going any farther…

#

He expected this.

Ryo led the other seniors in the gym, blocking him from coming any farther. "You got some nerve to show your face here… you here for a rematch?" he demanded.

"I doubt you have improved that much to declare one." Tempest stated.

It only angered Ryo farther. "You and me, in that dohyo right now! I was just having an off day, lucky for you, I haven't faced anyone… that's not so lucky for you to say the least!"

He sighed aloud to the challenge. "Must we do this? I here to speak with Oni."

"Beat me first, and then we will tell you where he is"

"Very well then…" Tempest began to strip himself down. He reduced his clothing until he wore nothing more than his boxer shorts. He took off his shoes and socks last as a path was made towards the sumo ring. Ryo was already there, waiting for his chance at redemption to his loss. However, Tempest knew nothing changed with him. He is merely out to see if what happened truly happened.

He wasn't given a chance to warm up to say the least. However the run he was on with his father should suffice.

Tempest stood on the opposite side; he took his stance as one of the other wrestlers acted as the referee. "Ready?... SPIRIT!"

Tempest charged, when his body clashed against Ryo's he felt nothing. It was as if he didn't just strike another person, Ryo on the other hand was jolted out of the dohyo rather brashly. He stumbled and fell back until he nearly fell on his fellow wrestlers from the strike.

There was silence.

He stood tall and proud over Ryo and said, "I told you, nothing has changed since we last encountered each other."

As he turned, he heard one man applauding him.

Oni was near the back, but he saw everything.

The smile on his face grew and grew the moment his eyes came upon him. "I knew it! I knew there was talent in there!" he announced.

His student parted as they let their master through and bowed with great respect as he approached the ring. "You have it!" he said without a shadow of a doubt. "My, my how did you get over your own fears so quickly? You were too shy to even show your face!"

He blushed at the news. "I had to train myself better." Tempest explained.

"Good, now you need proper training!"

"Master… you can't be serious!? Senpai!"

Oni glared at Ryo who instantly bowed his head and kept silent. But his focus shifted back towards Tempest, the smile grew once more as Tempest came down from the ring. Oni was quick to put his arm around him and said. "You need to polish your gift to say the least. BUT, I am just the man to do it. What do you say? Will you come to my sumo stable?"

Tempest paused, he knows if he accept, he will have to leave home. He has never considered such a notion, not even as he perused his dream of becoming Yokozuna. "I will strongly consider it."

"Wait Oni, this kid comes out of nowhere, you mean to tell me, you are just going to accept him like that? WE had to be interviewed, same with our parents!" protested Ryo.

He sighed to the news. "Yes, of course, I will not show preferable treatment when you all had to go through proper channels. Tempest. I wish to meet your parents, perhaps that will shine a better light on you as to where your remarkable talent comes from. I am curious as to who they are… you look strongly like someone we see everywhere to say the least…"

Tempest gulped his pride as he knew who Oni was referring too, after all, there isn't a billboard in any city that wouldn't have at least 20 Amai Mask pictures upon them. The others soon began to whisper, wondering the same thing. Ryo himself was stunned to the realization to his possible relations.

But he nodded. "I will ask my parents to meet with you."

Oni nodded his approval. "Very good then, for now, perhaps we ought to let cooler heads prevail and you get on your way."

He agreed and bowed in thanks to Oni for his offer. Tempest quickly dressed once more and left. He got a good distance away when he heard him. His father just landed behind him, rather amazed as he took a deep breath. "Wow… that guy had it out for you. Who pissed his breakfast?"

Tempest laughed. "He is the strongest out of Oni's students, and he believes himself that he will be the one to beat Raiden… not with that attitude to say the least!"

His father nodded. "I only got little snippets as to what Oni was saying to you… that was Oni right? The former Yokozuna?"

"Indeed, uh… perhaps it's best we talk about this at home." Tempest paused. "Wait, how could you hear anything?"

"Oh right, I peeked through the skylight, also, there was a monster near by and I needed a snack. I missed the conversation completely."

"Well, let's get home. I want mom's opinion on this as well."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Not bad, not bad at all!"

Yuuma and the others have been practicing hard on their band. He was impressed as to how well everyone could sing and hold their own. "I don't know any bands that has every band member capable of singing." Drax said aloud. He then paused and began to think. "Maybe… just maybe…"

"Drax?" asked Eclipsa.

"I don't know if you guys are interested, BUT, if we do this, we got to practice a lot harder than we are now." He said.

Everyone was all ears as they leaned in. Drax over heard Amai last weekend when he was at his place. Not only are they getting ready to make a second movie, but there is a new reality TV show he is forced to do. "He's not happy about it to say the least, but Amai will be hosting a new show… a singing contest… well… more like battle of the bands. Winner gets a contract"

There was dead silence in the room. Yuuma paused as he thought it over. "It's no good for us, he will know who we are the moment we show our faces." He said and sighed in defeat. "There has to be a better way…"

"Dude, you never heard of a gimmick?"

Yuuma paused to the question as Drax rolled his eyes. "It's a persona we can make if we become a band, so we make costumes and fake names." Jason explained. But then smirked. "I actually like the idea…"

"But, what do we become?" asked Luna. "You know scales aren't easy to hide to say the least."

"Yeah, that's the thing, we got time so perhaps we will think of something later… For now, let's take a break." Their stomachs rumbled aloud as hunger was getting the best of them. Yuuma paused as he admired the sound proof room Alley added on last minute to the house. Father insisted upon it of course. As they ventured to the kitchen, Yuuma smiled as he found his mother already set out lunch. A big stack of sandwiches and various sides.

"You're the best, you do know that mom?" Yuuma said and smiled.

She paused and looked at him oddly. "Who are you and what have you done with Yuuma!?" she said in a joking tone. "You never sound this happy."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps I have an obtainable goal?" he said and began to partake in his lunch.

"Just remember to be cautious about your goal, we all want to hit Amai where it hurts, but we also don't need it to come back and bite us in the ass later."

"I know mom, we're mainly doing this for fun!" he vowed.

He was having fun, in fact, ever since the band formed and thanks to Drax's guidance, it's become something rather enjoyable to do. He sees the smiles on his brother and sisters' faces. Jason and Drax are also enjoying themselves. It's become a stress relief for him to say the least.

But also, it gives him solace to know he's good at something!

After lunch, they sat contently as they began to think of different songs to play. They could sing a whole range of them and knew that would give them a great edge if they do this contest. However, they need to make this 'gimmick' Jason explained earlier.

Just as he was wondering aloud, Yuki came home very suddenly. "Oh good, everyone's here!" he said.

"Yuki? What are you doing home? I thought Alley was going to keep you busy all day," mother asked.

"Oh she is, but I couldn't wait to try these." He took off the backpack, and began to shuffle through the things within until he found it. Taking them out he revealed rather proudly a set of sunglass frames with no lenses. "This… I couldn't wait to try!" he said.

The room was in an awkward pause. "Uh… huh…" Drax said rather nervously. "They are frames…"

"Put them on!" Yuki said without containing his excitement.

Yuuma reached and took a pair, he places them on but saw nothing was different. "Okay… now what?" he asked his brother.

"Tap the side of the frame, you should feel a small black button."

His finger felt along the edge of the frame, until he found it. Yuuma pressed the button, but still nothing changed as he hit it. When he turned to the others, their mouths dropped. "What?" then he felt it, something slipped over his brow, came down along the sides of his face and stopped at the bridge of his nose. He began to see a shadow of black before his eyes. His mother fetched a mirror as he peered into it.

"Whoa… I look like a wolf!" he announced.

His hair, and most of his face was covered in something, yet it gave him wolf like ears at the top of his head, his hair appeared long and unkempt from the back and maintained a dark black look. He turned to Yuki who couldn't contain his excitement anymore. "Isn't it awesome!" he said. "This is a mask for you to wear, it's for everyone. It occurred to me, after I heard about that new reality show on the radio and I KNEW you would go for it. This will let you compete! Amai won't know who you are it hides most of your features yet maintains a rather professional look!"

Everyone was wearing their glasses now, and they hit the button. Drax appeared like a white wolf, Jason, brown wolf. Luna was white with black markings. Eclipsa was grey.

"We're all wolves!" Luna laughed. "Just like daddy!"

Her mother snickered. "Well his name is Garou." She said. "So, what's the name of this band?" she asked.

They thought it over until Yuki said. "Raise by wolves."

They paused and considered it. Jason smirked and said. "You know what, I like it! I like it a lot!"

"Me too!" said Drax.

"I'm all for it!" said Eclipsa.

Yuuma smiled and nodded, "Raised by wolves, it's perfect!"

"Okay guys bring it in!" Drax called as everyone put their hands together in a circle. "Count of three, Raised by wolves. One… two… three…"

"RAISED BY WOLVES!" they shouted.

Yuuma turned to his brother and gave a very appreciative nod. "Thank you."

"My pleasure… oh I better get back. I borrowed the drone without asking!"

#

Melee smiled as the kids went back to practice, when Yuki left. Garou returned with Tempest. "That was a long jog!" she said. They have been gone since nine this morning and just returning at noon for lunch. She made more sandwiches and set up a spot for Tempest. He took a seat and ate as Garou lingered oddly against one of the fridges. She picked up on his odd stance and asked. "What's going on?"

"Tempest has something to talk about, I don't even know what it's about yet." Garou explained.

He was quick to eat his lunch when he sighed. "Oni has invited me to the sumo stables… however… he wants to meet you two first. An interview with the parents." He explained.

Garou's stance suddenly changed. He appeared rather stunned as he took a seat. "Shit…" he muttered. "It had to be him too…"

"Garou…" Melee asked in a concerned tone.

He began to twitch oddly in his chair before scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "Uh… you… remember my hero hunting days? Before I went after the heroes… I knocked over some dojos…" he said offhandedly.

Melee froze. "You didn't!"

"First one I hit…" he muttered.

"I don't understand dad… what are you talking about?" Tempest questioned.

Melee sighed. "Before I met your father… long before you and the kids were born, he went through a phase where he wanted to be a monster… he was still human at the time but was determined to change that by various misdeeds." She explained. "One of them… due to his genius combatant skill was to face off against strong opponents to build his strength. Apparently one of the first places he hit… was Oni's sumo stable…"

Tempest froze as he turned to Garou. "Dad… is this true?"

Garou took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, it's where I learned to keep my stance low, open palm strikes and using my opponents momentum against them. I laid them all out… I suppose the ironic part was after that… Oni retired as Yokozuna."

Tempest suddenly slumped back in the chair.

He appeared devastated to the news, Melee felt his heart breaking, his dream already dead in the water before he had a chance to pursue it.

However everyone jumped as Garou's hand slapped the table. "We're going, we are going to meet Oni, and I'll take care of it." He said with great sincerity.

Melee was even confused. "What are you planning?" she asked.

He shrugged his shoulders to her. "Nothing that will get me into trouble if that's what you're asking…"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Athena made her way to her meeting. However, due to the nature of the business one of her brothers insisted on going along with her. Of all people, she never expected Hunter to tag along!

"I can do this on my own!" she insisted.

Hunter however made a face as if he considered the notion but wasn't going to really follow through. "Nah, I don't want people coming after my little sis. Besides, businesses like these tend to eat people alive if they aren't prepared. Remember this is your first venture. It's not a bad thing to have someone watching your back." He explained.

She sighed and allowed it for now. Besides she had to meet with Vestor on her latest fashions.

Athena walked through the studio, but not before getting this stink eye from various designers. Hunter however turned and glared back at them. "You got something to say… SAY IT!" he demanded.

Suddenly they froze and back off and went to their work once more. "Hunter, please!" Athena whispered.

That alone embarrassed her.

"Keep your guard up." He whispered. "I have no doubt they are going to try and make a move sooner than later…" he kept close at the time, his eyes were focused on those around her. When they managed to get to the back of the studio, he took a deep breath and said. "You got your work cut out for you… those guys are aiming to get you out of here and fast."

"How would you know that?" she demanded.

Hunter sighed. "Little sis, listen to big bro for just a moment… I've seen that look more than once in my lifetime. One when I was at the Heroes association and I started at the bottom in C rank, only to quickly get promoted. When that happened, I got that very look those people are directing at you!" he said. "They are going to do ANYTHING to keep you from succeeding… just be made aware of that."

She sighed aloud and nodded her head in agreement. "I will."

"ATHENA DARLING!"

The voice of a very strong yet flamboyant man filled the room. Suddenly, all eyes were on her. "Athena! Why didn't you tell me you were bringing company? Who is this young man in the scale suit?"

Athena smirked as Hunter sighed. "That's my actual skin." He muttered.

"Mr. Vestor, this is my older brother Hunter," she said.

Suddenly, those in the room looked quite pale. Vestor on the other hand didn't even flinch at the news. "Brother you say? He's the son of Garou is he not?" he asked.

She nodded. "He's my father too." She said proudly.

Scissors and other fashion tools suddenly hit the ground. No one in the building moved at all!

"So I see, you command a crowd to say the least. Just the reaction I am looking for! Come darling we need to talk! Mr. Hunter, please come and join us!" They were guided to a room just outside the back of the studio. When the door closed, Vestor sighed aloud. "I must apologize for that reaction. You see this business is quite cut throat, a lot of people who are working under me have talent but not the vision I desire… until now. I have seen your designs, slow fashion as it is called is taking off quite well. In fact, we have been asked to see if we can make clothing from monster skin. Rather than harming the local wildlife for the sake of fashion."

Hunter gulped a little. "Uh… am I here to get skinned?" he asked.

Vestor snickered. "Of course not dear boy! However, I know for a fact that you and your family can take down beasts with ease and yet can keep the pelt intact!"

"Slight problem… we eat them… so… how is this gonna work?"

Vestor smiled.

"Young man, for the past few years we have trained some of the finest hunters in the world to skin monsters for their pelts. We can leave the meat for your family, that is no issue. It would be a perfect cycle if you consider it. No waste what so ever of a fallen beast that is set on harming the cities!"

Athena was impressed with the notion. "I like the idea! However please consider my friend. Snek and his children, they are serpents and tend to eat everything before them, pelts and all due to their nature. We wouldn't be able to secure materials from them, but the rest of the family I am certain we can make arrangements."

Vestor clapped rather joyfully. "Wonderful! Follow me then!"

They were taken out of the studio and into an awaiting limo of all things. Hunter was getting more uncomfortable as this day went on. Athena tried to keep the mood light by going over her designs with Vestor and explaining the practicality of her designs. When the limo stopped, they were outside of the city, in front of a massive warehouse. She could already smell blood from where she stood. "Mr. Vestor…"

"We are processing them here." He explained. "I thought it would be best if you saw it all first hand. Are you comfortable with the notion?" he asked.

The two nodded.

They were invited into the warehouse, they were instantly walked out onto a catwalk of sorts as the process done blow. The place was remarkably clean to say the least. The pelts were stripped off and tanned with ease as the rest of the monster bodies were taken to another area. "As resourceful as this is I know this isn't going to please everyone… for some monsters were once human beings… and we are turning them into product…" Vestor explained.

"I never considered that before… however they lose all sense of themselves and their urges to kill and destroy over take that of their true selves." Athena said, she was at ease with it, after all, she has eaten more than her fair share of monsters. Hunter too.

"We are dealing with a great backup due to the fact we have no way of getting rid of the remains…" Vestor paused. "Where did your brother go?"

She smirked and pointed. "I think he's solving your problem. He did skip lunch today to accompany me."

In the far corner of the room, the skinned monster bodies began to decrease and vanish. Until none remained. Hunter slurped down the last one before unleashing a massive burp throughout the warehouse.

The people paused, but then. There was a round of applause for him! "Finally, we can get work done!" One decreed.

Vestor was amazed. "How many tons was that?" he asked himself.

Athena however smirked to the question. Her brothers can eat. Hell if Tempest was in his serpent form and missed lunch he could do the very same thing! "No matter, Mr. Vestor, when do we start working together?" she asked.

He snapped out of his daze and smiled to her. "I do believe we need to start right away, for you see, Amai Mask is going to be doing a new reality show and insists on new outfits for it! Are you up to the challenge?"

She smiled and nodded. "Good, now… I think you need a designer name. Athena Brawler sounds just too… gruff for my liking."

She sighed, she has the perfect name in mind. "How about Amelia Amai?" she asked.

His eyes widened, Vestor suddenly grabbed hold of her shoulders and said. "It's perfect! Amelia Amai… it rolls off the tongue doesn't? How perfect is this!"

'Too perfect…' she thought, for she is certain it would have been the name given to her if Amai Mask raised her!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Titan finally woke up for the day.

He came out of his room, stretched and relaxed from sleeping in. Despites his siblings who have all found passion project to pursue, Titan was far too content to stay at home and along side his mother. He mainly sticks to his serpent form due to the comfort it brings him, however he will turn human if he feels like it. But for the most part, he remains a snake and enjoys sleeping in a coil when he goes to bed at night.

When he finally slithered into the kitchen, his father smirked. "Whoa, look at what the cat coughed up…"

"Huh?" peering up, he ran his fingers through his hair and found it had gone all over the place, yet with a quick finger brush he managed to get it back to normal. Upright and pointed just like his father's hair style. "It's fine…" he insisted. He slinked into the kitchen and was quick to give his mother a firm hug. "Morning mom…"

"Afternoon," she corrected. "Hon, it's nearly one…"

"Oh…"

"We got to get you something to do." His father chimed in. "You aren't really into do other things like your siblings huh?"

Titan sighed. "I just don't know what I want to do yet dad… I will go hunt later. I am getting hungry…"

"And you just ate yesterday," said Tempest. "You ought to take father's advice and be human once and a while."

Titan shrugged his shoulders to it all. "I'm comfortable in scales."

"That will piss off Amai to say the least… Tempest, want to go train?" his father asked. He nodded as the two left the kitchen.

Titan kept looking at his mother strangely. She appeared to have picked up on his odd gaze. "Something wrong?" she asked.

"I don't know…" he said. "Every time I hug you, you feel different."

She paused, in her confusion she turned to Titan. "What do you mean?" she asked.

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't really know, it's just every time I hug you… I feel something…"

Her confusion didn't go away to say the least. "What exactly do you feel?" she question.

He couldn't answer her, since he hasn't been able to compare it to anything else, but he tried to change the subject. "Look, I could be wrong about it, I mean… I don't know everything, and you know I am a hugger, maybe I just picked up something when I squeezed you a little too hard."

She nodded to that. "Just don't hug too hard then okay?"

"Okay… I think I am going to go hunt something."

"Be careful, and if you need help getting back home, you call!"

"Yes mom, I got my backpack just in case, Alley is on speed dial." He laughed.

Titan slithered out of the house as he went down the mountain and looked about for where to hunt. He picked up the scent in the air but couldn't detect a monster at all. "Oh well, I guess I will be looking about…" he continued to slide around town in search of something to snack on. People would stop and stare, there were children who stopped and stared at him ever so often until one approached him. "Excuse me?"

It was a little girl, he paused and looked to her. "Yes?" he asked gently.

"Are you Amai Mask?" she questioned. "You look like him, but you also look like Garou…"

He smiled to her. "Who do you think I look like the most?" he asked.

She squinted her eyes and then nodded. "Garou!" she said.

He smiled. "Thank goodness I do, he is my dad after all!" he laughed.

Kids soon began to clamor around him. "Whoa, you're Garou's son?"

"What's he like?

"He's he a good dad?"

"What kind of stuff can you do?"

He was bombarded with questions but his smile only grew. "Well, my dad is awesome! He's very strong but at the same time very kind, he teaches us lessons to ensure that we know our own strength and use it properly and so we don't harm others. I have a LOT of siblings to look up to and learn from, so there is never a dull moment to say the least."

Titan found himself coiling up and talking to the kids, some were even brave enough to climb him and sit as he spoke. He didn't mind the least bit to it all. However, some of the parents were getting a little worried.

"Kids… perhaps it's best you not sit on him…" one mother said in a warning tone.

"Oh it's fine, I have no problem." Titan said with a grin. Somehow his smile just washed away their fears. His mother always told him he had just a glowing and very beautiful grin.

"Okay then… I'm sorry if I said anything…" the mother stated and suddenly flushed red.

"Please do not worry about it the least bit. I understand you are concerned for the children, I promise I will not harm them…" just from the corner of his eye he saw it. One child lost balance and was about to fall over five feet off the ground! He was quick to catch them before that occurred and placed them gently on their feet.

People stopped and stared, impressed by his reaction time. "I do apologize little ones but I need to leave. I have to find myself some lunch. I will be more than happy to talk to you another time."

They were understanding and were quick to get off of Titan. He gave a polite bow and excused himself before moving on, but he heard from the people around. "How on earth is he Garou's son? He has manners and speaks like Amai Mask!"

Titan sighed to that, despite not being on good terms with Amai, a part of him still wants to know him and get a better understand of the man who should be his father. But for now, he will focus on lunch!

#

At the Association.

Suiryu was rather protective as of late.

He hasn't left Alley's side much, ever since that experiment he did for her. Suiryu has found himself drawn to her more and more. It doesn't help that a few days after the test, he was going to bed when Alley came into the room. Normally she would change in the bathroom before coming in. However, this time, she entered… and began to undress.

Politely he turned away when she said gently. "It's okay…"

He froze to her tone as he dared to look, her shirt just came off and then her pants were soon to follow. "Alley…" he said in amazement.

She smiled warmly until she soon stripped herself naked before him. What really caught him off guard were the small wings she possessed but had used those as a bra for herself to keep her chest covered. But, she stood before him in all her glory.

He hasn't been able to get her out of his mind since. Not only did she reveal her whole self to him that night but… well…

The solidified their marriage that night too.

It brought a smile to his lips, since he never told anyone about it. He knows better than to brag about such an intimate moment between them. But ever since then, he hasn't been able to bring himself to leave her for prolong periods of time. "Suiryu, you're board, go out and do something fun!" she insisted as he laid his head on the table yet kept his focus on her.

"Nah, I'm good…" he insisted.

But why couldn't he keep himself away?

Genus was getting a little startled by his odd stare. "Uh… Suiryu, are you certain you are okay?"

He was about to answer when Yuki returned, he appeared out of breath but played it off that he didn't go anywhere or do anything. He whistled as he went to his new workstation and got back to tinkering with whatever was on the table.

"Borrowed the drone?" Alley asked.

He froze from his work. "Uh… I made sure Snek didn't need it" he insisted. "I just… I had to get home and show Yuuma what I made for him and his group. They are going to enter you know!"

"Oh that new contest right? The one Amai is judging…"

"Really? He's going through with it?" Alley asked. Yuki was about to answer when Alley's stomach roared. The whole room paused by the sudden outburst of her own belly. She blushed to the notion. "Sorry…"

Suiryu stood up from the workstation, he went up to Alley and scooped her into his arms. "HEY!" she protested.

"Argue later, lunch now" he said and began to carry her out of the room.

She tried to wiggle her way out of his grasp, but he kept it firm. "Suiryu! What's with you? My stomach just growled…"

"No, it roared… you keep putting off your meals, you can't be doing this anymore!" he protested.

He got her to the cafeteria in no time, from there he sat her down and got the drone to take the order and make it quick for her sake. They waited no more than ten minutes when the table filled with her favorites. "Dig in!" he said.

"Suiryu, I'll eat when… Ooo… that does smell good…" she began taking little bites of various plates, perhaps she wasn't about to give into the notion that he was right and she should be eating better. But soon, Suiryu smiled with victory as she sat comfortably and began to clear plates. "Oh… this is good… so good!" she cooed after each mouthful. He watched on as Alley cleared the table.

She sat contently and then leaned against him. Her eyes drifting close as she nestled herself in. "You need a nap huh? Yeah, let's go put Alley down for a nap…" He smirked as he carried her to the resting area of the Association. He tucked her into bed but was quick to nestle up. His arms tangled around her body as he found himself drifting off to sleep along side her…


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Nothing… perhaps I should change…" Titan came to the realization that monsters don't attack every single day… or at least not all the time. Normally he would just have to stroll about before finding a monster to take down and eat, but today, not a tail to be seen or shouting behemoth to make into a decent meal. He sighed as he was about to turn to his human form, when he saw something. Down the street they were filming, but the scream he heard coming from the area was not that of a professional actress!

He was quick to see and peered up along with everyone else. There was a woman, dangling off the side of the building! She was holding on for dear life as the crew blow panicked.

"Her safety harness snapped!"

"We don't have the airbag, where the hell is the air bag!"

"SOMEONE HELP ME!" she screamed.

Titan began to get in a little closer, before realizing he could climb this. "MONSTER!" someone shouted as people began to panic.

"Where?!" Titan asked. "I haven't eaten yet!"

People froze suddenly. "Wait… doesn't he look like…"

"But how?!"

"Wait, I heard of him, he's a son of Garou isn't he?"

"So… no monster?" Titan asked in a disappointed tone. He then sighed. "Oh well… excuse me… I'm going to help that lady."

Titan learned a lot from Snek, one thing was they could climb along the sides of buildings if one is careful enough and has the strength to. His underbelly scales may look soft, but there are little hooks that can be called out when needed for traction. These hooks can find any nook or cranny and could pull and lift his body off the ground. It took him some time to perfect it, but soon enough, Titan became a very proficient climber.

He was three stories up by the time he reached the woman dangling off the side. She was panicked, sweating and was nearly out of strength. He reached for her rather effortlessly. She braced herself on to him without hesitation. "Are you okay?" he asked gently.

"Please… get me down! Please!" she begged.

"Of course." Titan said and smiled. Slowly he began to slink back down the building, this was far more difficult than climbing up. However, he has a trick for that too.

He's fallen out of many tall trees before in his practices.

When he was about a story off the ground he looked down and nodded. "Okay miss, hold on tightly, we're nearly down…"

"Wait, why do I…"

He released the side of the wall.

People below began to scream as this massive serpent man began to drop, yet he was prepared for it. Titan hit the ground rather hard, yet was able to spread his body around enough that the impact was very minimal to him. The road and sidewalk however, that was a different story!

People appeared shaken when he hit the ground, some fell off their feet from the tremor as Titan himself made a rather deep trench from the fall. "You can let go miss, we're on the ground." He explained.

The young woman opened her eyes, the crew was cheering aloud and they did a quick check up on her. "Latina are you okay!?"

"I will be after a break… we're taking a break, right?"

The man in charge nodded. "We have to call the safety commission on this, this never should have happened!"

The people disburse as the woman named Latina looked into Titan's eyes. She gasped at his face. "Amai?" she whispered.

Titan smiled gently. "No, I'm Titan." He explained and bowed. "I am glad you are okay…" his body then quivered. He sighed aloud. "I guess I am eating regular food today… never as filling…" he struck his bands and turned human before her. His sister had implemented nanobots for instant clothing. When he stood on two feet and gained his human features, the actress couldn't bare to look away.

He smiled and was about to leave when she called out. "Wait!" he paused and turned to her. "Please… let me at least get you lunch… the very least I could do is offer you a meal." She explained.

"I eat a lot, is that okay?"

She smiled. "After what you saved me from, I don't care if you put the restaurant out of business!"

#

He was able to eat to his heart's content.

Despite the people stopping and staring at them, Titan kept pace as he devoured plate after plate of delicious food. Latina merely watched with utter amazement as he was able to wolf down so much in such little time. "Uh… are you okay?" she asked.

Titan finished the last plate, he gave his chest a firm slap as the food was coxed down his throat. "Ah… just fine… thank you." He said. But paused to her odd glare. "Do… you wish to ask something of me?"

She froze to his tone. "W… what do you mean?"

"You look, you want to ask something, but are hesitating." He paused. "Perhaps I should properly introduce myself. I am Titan Brawler!" he said proudly.

Latina froze. "Titan… Brawler?" she asked slowly.

He nodded his head. "The circumstance of my birth are rather… peculiar to say the least. My mother is Melee Brawler, my blood father… is Amai Mask." He whispered.

There came a look of devastation over her face. "That asshole… that bitch!"

He was taken aback by her tone. "Excuse me?"

"She said there was NOTHING between them! I fell for that lie…"

"Miss Latina… do you know my mother?"

Her arms crossed as a glare came over her. "Not anymore after this!"

Titan was a little confused. "Wait… are you in a relationship with Amai Mask?" he asked.

She was silent. Latina looked away as Titan then realized what upset her so much. He giggle to it, thinking it was rather funny. "Miss Latina… don't you find it odd that if what has you so upset is true… yet my age wouldn't exactly match your notion would it?"

She blushed oddly. "You… are rather smart aren't you?"

"Not as smart as my older brother Yuki…"

"Wait… older brother?"

"Yes, I am one of six!" he said rather cheerfully.

But he wondered why she suddenly turned white. He was quick to clear his voice as he leaned in. "I can explain it all to you, but not here." He whispered. "Shall we go somewhere more private?"

Latina nodded. She paid the bill as Titan led her out of the restaurant. He found it strange though, why there were so many people outside carrying cameras of all things, and taking a lot of pictures. But he ignored that for now, and insisted that they needed to go somewhere quieter. "I have just the place, but it's a bit of a trek… hold on… maybe we can get a lift there…"

#

He managed to borrow the drone. It took him and Latina to an old training ground his father uses, when they landed, Latina was stunned to how silent it was. "Wow… this is amazing…"

"Dad trains here all the time…"

"Amai?"

"No… Garou." He explained. "Miss Latina… you need to understand something… my birth was never planned, my siblings and I were nothing more than mere experiments caused by the house of something or whatever…"

"House of evolution." She whispered.

"That's the one!" Titan said, but then sighed. "You see, they tricked Amai, from what dad said they drugged him up, and then placed him into a room with the clone of my mom… who turned serpent for him… well… needless to say the result of that… Amai never wanted my siblings and I, he still has half a mind to kill us. But, Garou and Melee have raised us… I call them my mother and father since they cared for us like their own children."

She froze to the news. "He… didn't want you?"

"No, my siblings are upset by this. However I am trying to see it from his perspective too… I mean… we were forced upon him. He was tricked into having us for the sake of this organization… perhaps he thought death was a better option than to be caught and used by the very people who wanted us born to begin with."

Latina fell silent to him, tears began to form in her eyes. "You poor thing…"

"No, I'm okay, we're all okay with it. Garou has been a wonderful father to us, and I proudly call him my dad over Amai. But… I want to get to know him too… I want to better understand him." He paused. "I could tell by the way you spoke earlier, you care for him. But, you sound distant as well…"

Her arms came up and around her. "We… were going to announce to the world that we would be dating until he had issues turning back into a human… he then kept distant from me, and even blamed me for his inability to turn back!" she said but cleared a tear or two from her eyes. "I love him… I really do, but sometimes, he says things that just… they hurt a lot more than they should."

Titan nodded. "I know that feeling." He whispered. "Perhaps thought, you can still work something out with him. You still love him, he still cares for you does he not?"

"He sent me a rose… just three days ago, saying he was thinking about me."

"Perhaps you should go talk to him."

She smiled to the advice. "I never thought someone like you would want him to be happy"

Titan snickered. "Dad always warned us, we could make his life a living hell, but he could easily turn around and return that hell to us. If anything we are just going to find little things to do that are going to piss him off," he said proudly. "I just don't quite know what I plan on doing just yet…"

She snickered to his tone. "Thank you for this… and for saving me earlier."

"Thank you for lunch, and besides, mom always said, if someone needs help, and you are able to do something… do it!"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Tempest was training hard.

He was going against his father constantly since returning from the makeshift sumo school. Perhaps after learning what his father did, he had some anger towards him for his past actions. He was striking hard against his father's chest, open palm shots that would easily knock down a human man, was nothing to him. The last one though, made Tempest collapse from it all. He fell back after the last of his strength went into the blow. He fell back and sighed aloud.

"You overdid it." His father announced as he took a seat next to him. "I also know you are upset with me… it's understandable…"

"Dad…" Tempest said between catching his breath. "Why did you do it?"

His father sighed aloud as he thought over his words. "How do I explain this…" he paused for a moment and then nodded. "Simply put, I was an idiot."

Tempest glared at him. "I do require a broader explanation than that."

His father smirked. "Yeah you do. Well… it's about time you learn something about me. I wasn't a hero. In fact, before I met your mother. I was trying to become a monster." He explained.

Tempest sat himself up as he stared at him with great surprise. "So that's how…"

"No, whole different story but part of the first one." He said. It took some time, but he learned that his father had a twisted sense to what a hero was, he was trying to become the ultimate monster so the world would unite in hated against him. "I thought if I became something so powerful, the world wouldn't be fighting with each other, they will unite to fight me. Well, that got nicked really quick by Saitama…"

"Oh… I heard the others speak about him… then again I did spend a day with him when I was smaller."

"Yeah, well long story short, when I was trying to become a monster. I was attacking dojo after dojo, didn't matter who or what they were. The first place I did hit was Oni's sumo stables. From there I went after others to get stronger, learn techniques to become unstoppable." He paused and sighed once more, his hand came on to Tempest's shoulder and he said. "But I swear to you. You will obtain your dream, my past will not hinder your future. Understood?"

He nodded, but he couldn't help but wonder how his father would do such a thing. Standing up, his hand reached down. Tempest took it to help him off the ground and back on his own two feet. By the time they entered the house once more, Yuuma was going over ideas with his band. They appeared to have hit a snag.

"We need music… good music… something different and yet… appealing!" Yuuma announced.

"Then go talk with your sister Alley." Chimed father.

They paused and turned to him oddly. "What do you mean dad?" asked Akira.

"I know for a fact the music she listens too… ain't from this world to say the least. I've seen her use this weird device that allows her to access the stuff she likes to listen to as she works. In fact that band she really likes, Disturbed… they don't exist in our world at all. Alley is the one that introduced their music by accident!"

"Huh?" everyone said, even Tempest.

Father rolled his eyes. "She got a hold of this device thinking it was a radio, she heard the band on there and went to the music store to get their CD. But no one ever heard of them before, and thought she was insane. So she found out the device she listened to was from the alien ship. Accesses things from alternative worlds, in this case, she got music. So she made up the band, and presented their music to this world… part the where her Association makes its money from."

"To the lab?" asked Luna.

"To the lab!" stated Yuuma.

As they left, Tempest smirked to it all, despite the feeling of disappointment he had towards his father, it has all vanished somehow. Still, he wondered what he was planning on doing to ensure that he is able to become a sumo wrestler. Perhaps he will know by tomorrow…

#

Yuki was about done his project for the day. He has been working on new weapons for the heroes when it comes to monster fighting, one project he became passionate about was Zombieman's trench coat. With the new technology Alley has gained, he has seen areas to improve the former design Alley had originally made for the hero. He just wrapped it up for now and was going to leave when Yuuma and his band came into the room.

"Yuki! Is Alley here?" asked Yuuma.

"She was, Suiryu took her to the cafeteria to eat, she hasn't come back…" he paused and noticed the time. "That was over two hours ago…"

"We were just there, Alley and Suiryu aren't there anymore." Said Jason.

"Why do you need Alley?" Genus asked.

"Dad said she had a machine that allows one to listen to music from other worlds in a sense, or alternative earths… we want to borrow it and see if we can find some music to use for the contest," Eclipsa explained.

"Oh yes, that contraption…" Genus muttered. "I have seen it, but I am uncertain if you have permission to use it…" he trailed off just as the lab doors opened.

"YOU NEEDED TO REST!" Suiryu protested.

"No, I didn't need to rest Suiryu, I over ate and then go tired. This is why I don't eat often or that much in a short time, I get really tired, I have to be on alert for the Association!" she said defiantly.

"The place hasn't burned down yet!"

"Whoa… you two calm down!" Yuki said. "Man, you two have been at each other for the past few days… it's not healthy."

Alley paused as she glared at Yuki. "We're just having conflicts in opinions." She explained.

Suiryu's arms crossed. "You aren't eating regularly, you aren't sleeping properly, and you spent too much time looking after everyone else but not yourself. It's about time someone steps in and tells you to relax a little. You can't be doing work all the time"

"Suiryu has a point big sis." Said Akira.

"You can stay out of this!" she warned.

Akira rolled his eyes. "Seriously though, every time you come home, you clear the table of food. Pac and Hunter weren't happy when you esper theft their dinner when they weren't looking and ate it. You are also slow to react. I noticed your reaction time has delayed slightly. You need to rest up."

She rolled her eyes to the comment. "You have no idea what I do around here. I run this place. I have to in order to ensure everyone is looked after and the cities are safe."

"We are capable of running it too Alley," Yuki said as he appeared to have his nose in his work once more just to avoid her glare. But what Suiryu has said is true. She has been acting a little strange as of late, he's finding a lot more mistakes in her work than usual. How is sees them and she doesn't is something he is still contending with. Not to mention, Genus has appeared rather worried for her as well.

Alley sighed aloud as everyone ganged up on her. Yuuma decided to ask quickly before the mood gets even more fowl to say the least. "Alley, the radio thing you have that allows someone to listen to music from other worlds… can we borrow that?" he asked.

She nodded. "It's in the other room, but it does not leave that room, understood?!" she demanded.

They all nodded. "Good, now how it works, it will display the name of the band, if you like the band you can alter the channel and find the music that they make and can listen to all they have created. Remember that thing does not leave that room!"

They nodded and left to use the device. Yuki however could tell Suiryu wasn't about to leave quietly to say the least. "Als. You need to go back to bed. You were resting so well until you had to use the bathroom…"

"And saw the time… Suiryu I wasted an afternoon!"

"Sis, you weren't working on anything important…" Yuki said, but when he caught her glare, he quickly looked away and tried to put some distance between himself and his sister. Subconsciously, he drifted towards Genus and waited out the storm from there.

Suiryu refused to leave the lab.

Alley refused to go back and rest.

There was no compromise to be made. Genus could no longer focus on his project, he slammed his hand against the table rather abruptly, startling everyone in the room. "If this keeps up I will summon Garou here!" Genus warned as he found himself unable to get back to work. He came up and stood between the two with his arms cross. "Alley, despite everything I am, I need proper rest and nourishment. I shouldn't have to be lecturing you like this, you are smart enough to know what your body desires!" His sights then turned to Suiryu. "I can understand you are concerned for her since she is your mate, but you are being too brash right now. Yes, Alley is busy, yes, she should be able to take better care of herself. But that doesn't not give you the right to helicopter over her all day like this!"

The two appeared rather sheepish, they were lectured like children before Yuki. He knew better than to laugh at it, but it was rather difficult to hold it back. Genus sighed aloud to them. "Alley, you should heed his advice today and go home. You have made many mistakes in your work and that is caused by the fatigue you keep ignoring."

She wanted to protest, but Genus already turned his back to her and went back to his station. She glared however sighed aloud and gave in. "Take me home please Suiryu?" she asked gently.

He smiled and nodded.

When they left, Yuki took a deep breath and then giggled. "How come it took you to lecture them to calm the situation down?" he asked.

Genus peered towards him. "You need to understand, despite my appearance… I am well over 100 years old."

Yuki turned rather pale with that new knowledge!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Rimuru was spending most of his day with Snek and his children. He was trying to get a better understanding of himself as well as what he should do with his life. However he found himself opening up to Snek and explained that he wanted to try something. "I want to take up martial arts like my dad… but don't know where to start…" he said.

They were in the middle of a hunt. Rimuru remained in his human form as Snek and his kids hunted as serpents. Although it would appear chaotic to the naked eye, it was rather not. Snek's four children were toying around with the monster threats at hand. Pythan in particular kept egging them on to try and strike him. "Come on I've seen turtles snap faster than you punch!"

Snek sat out the battle to speak with Rimuru. "Martial arts huh? Well, you can always do something that your father did… but don't go to the same extreme."

"Oh?"

"You dad has something called genius combatant skills. He can fight someone who has a far different style of martial arts than him, yet during the battle he will pick up the technique of it and learn and use it against his opponent, he knocked over a lot of dojos back in the day, forced his way in, made them fight him and then decimated the place."

Rimuru froze to the news. "Oh… I never knew…"

"That was back when he was young and stupid… now he's just stupid from time to time. Good thing your mother keeps him in check."

He snickered to that but then thought it over. "So… I should go to a dojo and see if perhaps they will train me?"

Snek nodded. "You can start by asking your dad. He knows something calls fists of flowing water…"

"I don't want him involved." Rimuru confessed. "Honestly, I want to try and surprise him with this. Besides, Tempest needs his help far more than me. I want to do this one my own too."

"Good luck with that kid. If I had legs, I would teach you biting snake fist combat…"

"Dad… they're all dead!" called Bo. "This isn't as much fun as it use to be…"

Snek smirked as his kid managed to take down a small legion of monsters on their own. "Perhaps one of these guys could help you train, or Drax but he's getting busy again too!"

"Thanks for the advice. I'll figure something out." With that Rimuru decided to walk about and see the cities. Perhaps he can get a better understanding as to what he could learn and from who. He would even talk to Lightning Max on ideas as well, he is a martial artist too!

He strolled through city U on his own, yet paused when he saw Iaian and the swordsmen. "IAIAN!" he called.

The swordsmen stopped and smiled. "Rimuru! Look a you, you really grew!" Iaian said and smirked. "What brings you out here? We're on patrols."

"Trying to figure something out. I want to take up martial arts but don't want my dad to know. I want to surprise him, also be certain I can DO martial arts too…"

"Then speak with master Bang!" said Bushidrill.

"Master Bang?"

"He trained Garou," explained Iaian. "However, you maybe better off asking his brother, Bomb to teach you first or at least point you in the right direction."

"Thank you… where do I find him?"

"Bomb if I am not mistaken has a Dojo in City Z as well, but on the opposite side of Bang's dojo… the mountain where you live. Ask around and I am sure someone will point you in the right direction." Said Bushidrill.

Rimuru smiled as he rushed back home. He was in City Z in little time and found a library with a map to the city, he was able to find Bomb's dojo. But he wondered if he would accept someone like him…

#

It was on a mountain just as high as the one that hid his house! However Rimuru was determined to go and see Master Bomb and learn something. He ascended the stairs until he found a rather large dojo at the top of the mountain, full of students all training hard. Rimuru walked in and soaked it all in, people young and old, big and small, men and women were all here to train, yet the exercise alone appeared rather basic in his eyes. But, they were all doing it together and in sync of each other.

"Can I help you?"

He froze to the stern voice. Rimuru paused as he turned and came face to face with a rather young looking martial artist. "I… I came to speak with master Bomb if he is willing to meet with me."

The man looked him over and yet sighed aloud. "Amai, if you need to train for a role, I suggest you take your notion elsewhere…"

The students suddenly froze. "Amai? Amai Mask!?" they began to whisper.

Yet as the man walked by him, Rimuru protested, "I am not Amai Mask!" he said defiantly. "My name is Rimuru Brawler, and I wish to learn martial arts!"

The man froze, slowly he turned around again and looked him dead in the eyes. "Rimuru Brawler?" he asked rather curiously.

Rimuru bowed before him. "Please, I wish to learn, I have no knowledge or experience in martial arts but I wish to know more. I may not be ready for this dojo. I… just need direction please."

He didn't raise his head, he couldn't until he was given an answer.

"Students, please continue on with your training, I need to speak with this young man alone."

He felt a gentle hand come on to his back. "Rise, and come with me."

Rimuru slowly stood once more as he followed the man out of the dojo and around the back. When he came to a stop the man began to stare at him oddly. "You claim you are not Amai Mask, yet you look like him."

He turned away rather embarrassed. "I… Uh… Sir… I can explain that, but I really am not Amai…"

"Oh I believed that the moment you said it. Had you been him, he would have tried to charm his way to me if he needed something, also, Amai never asks for help on anything! Now then, Rimuru is it? What are you hoping to gain from all this?"

"Purpose sir, in fact. I wanted to be more like my father, Garou. But… I don't know if I have the talent for it…" As Rimuru peered up to see this strange man, he suddenly found himself dodging an attack!

The man was striking without warning or provocation!

He was fast, that was certain, and yet Rimuru was just fast enough to see the strike coming and avoid them. He went on for ten minutes until the man stopped. He was curious now. "You had many chances to strike back at me, why didn't you?"

Rimuru was surprised. "Well… you see sir… I don't really know how. Also, I don't quite have my own strength… mine does come from my real father, and if I call upon it, I could really hurt someone. Maybe even kill them." He explained.

"Ah, I see… Hmm…" he man fell silent before nodding his head. "I want you to return here, as often as you can. I will call up some friends of mine to train you. I have a feeling that it won't be simple for you to find someone to help you learn, especially with an appearance like yours."

He paused. "Really? Sir… thank you… but… why go the extra mile to help me?"

He shrugged. "I am merely curious to see how much of Garou is in you," he said with a smirk. "And it's Master Bomb."

Rimuru smiled as he bowed once more. "Thank you Master Bomb! I do ask, please, do not tell anyone of my training."

"I don't go out much anyway, so it won't be an issue. Can you come by tomorrow?"

Rimuru nodded his head with great excitement.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Melee was trying to figure out dinner for tonight. It wasn't easy considering how much the family has grown, as well as those who are in a human like form are more difficult to feed! But still, she would work something out. Not to mention she had a strange feeling it wouldn't be long until Saitama returns to the house along with Genos. However, he may not take too kindly to the crowded table.

"Perhaps I will just do a bit of everything…" she announced. She searched for leftovers but remembered, there hasn't been any for the past few weeks. Just as she was about to get started. Suiryu came home with Alley in his arms, she was passed out which was rather strange to her. "Everything okay?" she asked him.

Suiryu nodded but said nothing more as he took Alley to bed. When he came out he sighed aloud. "I've been worried about her. Melee I didn't realize the extent she goes through when running the Association. She's not resting properly, she's not eating consistently either!"

Melee nodded as Suiryu appeared at a loss. "You want to help her, but she is refusing it since she doesn't see anything wrong."

"Yes! Exactly!"

Melee paused as she stared at Suiryu oddly. "You… look different… have you put on weight?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"Come here a moment, I think you got taller too…"

He was confused. Suiryu approached her as Melee nodded. "You got taller. Before I was about an inch or two under your chin, I think I am now three to four inches under your chin now…"

Suiryu paused oddly to the news. "I got taller, and you think I put on weight?" he demanded.

"Well your abs have lost some definition…"

He peered down at himself but didn't really take notice. He should, Suiryu has always been proud of his strength and physical look, last time he felt like he put on weight he did laps until he was pleased with himself. Now, he doesn't appear to care if he has or hasn't. "Something going on?" Melee asked. "Anything weird happen to you lately?"

He shook his head to it all. "No, not in the least bit." He sighed aloud. "Maybe I'll just go to bed with Alley. Maybe we caught something…"

"Go ahead, besides, I think she sleeps better knowing you are near by." He gave a smile and a nod before disappearing into the room. Melee on the other hand had a sinking feeling as to what was going on.

Garou returned along with Tempest, they stepped out to grab more food considering how fast the family is going through it. But he paused when he took in the air. "Alley's home?" he asked.

"So is Suiryu," Melee explained. "You know that funny feeling I've been having as of late? I think I know what it is now…"

Garou suddenly dropped the groceries in his arms, shaking his head in disbelief. "No… you and I talked about it before… you can't be serious!" he demanded.

Melee nodded. "Might as well get the book you had ready out for this…"

"What book?" asked Tempest.

Garou sighed but then forced a smirk. "A book for people who like to place a bet…"

#

Melee was about to get started on dinner when Tempest offered to make it tonight. "I took all these cooking classes but haven't used my skills yet for the family. May I?" he asked.

She smiled and nodded. Tempest's grin grew as he got right to work preparing everything. "Would you like help?" she asked.

He waved off her offer. "I can do this. I just need to prep everything first and then it will be far easier for me to cook, you relax mom."

She smiled and nodded as she joined Garou at the kitchen table, he was writing into a little black book. "So… what are the conditions of these bets?" she asked.

Garou thought it over. "We have various factors going right now. One is discovery through Genos, Titan, Luna… you know the typical blabbermouths. Second is the oblivious. Won't know until certain events happen, for example, weight gain, someone missing… and so forth…"

"You are seriously taking bets on this?" Tempest asked. "Why?"

"For fun, maybe make a little money on the side… you know, keeps things interesting around here." Garou said with a smirk.

"How long do you think it will be?" Melee asked.

He paused. "Well, we already got certain factors starting now, I don't think it's going to be long until his body adjusts to everything… but still… damn it she's only nine!"

"Human years yes, monster years she is a fully mature young woman." Melee corrected. "And how do you think I fell about this!" she protested.

Tempest smirked as he continued on making dinner. Garou spent the rest of the afternoon making various lists and situation, until it was condensed down into a grid chart. People can write their name and place their bet as to when this is all going to come crushing down on Suiryu…

#

"So, here's the chart!"

He couldn't wait.

With all the factors worked out, Garou decided he would take this straight to the association and pitch it to the heroes without Alley or Suiryu knowing. When he gathered quite a few, Garou revealed the chart as Melee hung back and watch it all unfold.

She sighed aloud as Garou broke down the rules and conditions to those in the cafeteria as he displayed the grid chart. The heroes were confused. "Uh, what's this about?" asked Max.

Garou smirked. "Well you are all going to be mocking me sooner than later so here it is… Melee and I strongly believe our daughter Alley is expecting."

The heroes froze to the news. "What?!" they demanded.

"Yeah, Suiryu has been acting a little odd as of late, which is similar to when I acted odd when Melee would be expecting. But now, it's Suiryu's turn! But he's a little oblivious to it right now, SO with that in mind. We are taking bets as to how long it will be before he realizes he is a father. Knowing Suiryu, he's not going to notice right away. We have various factors to bet on and against. One would be the time it takes for him to realize the truth, how long it took him to figure it out, WHO told him if he gets told, how he learns it, AND the X factors such as it accidently slipping out by the big three blabber mouths. Genos, Luna, Titan and also the Saitama factor."

There were snickers and giggles breaking out among the heroes. "So… who wants to place a bet?" Melee asked. "Garou will be handling the money and we will document everything."

Suddenly there was a line up of heroes as they began to place down their money. Many were doing it for fun, nothing more than 100 yen at a time. However there were the wildcard spots, some people were placing bets on who would be the one to tell Suiryu by accident, placing good money on the blabber mouths. Others have gone for the day methods that it wouldn't take him too long to figure it out.

Max couldn't help but laugh at it all. "So you know… not one word!" warned Garou.

"Of course, I don't want to lose my bet!" he protested.

"What the hell is all of this!?"

People parted as Snek came into the room with his kids, everyone ate but weren't the least bit tired yet from their venture. Pythan paused as he noticed the grid board and smirked. "You just realized that now?" he asked.

"Damn serpents… you sensed it didn't you?!" demanded Garou.

"Heartbeats are not easy to ignore in another person to say the least." he said and smirked once more.

Snek looked over the board and nodded to the grid. "I'll take this square." He said and put down some money. Garou smirked as the other heroes began to follow suit. Money was taken and bets placed until the grid was full. Genus wondered in to the commotion, but appeared confused to it all.

"Genus, you just missed placing your bet!" Garou called.

"Oh, is this about Alley's condition?" he approached the board and sighed aloud. "I should have known it was this, I doubt even she knows right now that she is expecting…"

"Well, we have a feeling Suiryu is going to be going the distance here and will start to keep a VERY close eye on her."

Genus nodded. "I have noticed the changes in him as well… I don't quite know what to make of it just yet…"

"Changes?" Melee asked.

Genus nodded. "Very similar to what Garou did with you, however I am uncertain as to how he will achieve it…"

"Whoa, wait, Suiryu doesn't have outer attachments like I do. These guys around my core are not part of the main flesh!" Garou stated.

Genus nodded. "Yet, in my studies, I have found that powerful male monsters having proven their worth to a single female will hoard her until she comes full term. Again, like what you did with Melee. Suiryu is on a similar level you are as well has a committed mate."

"So… you think he is going to be holding on to Alley?" asked Melee.

"Without a doubt, considering her past action and his concern for her well being, I believe he will do something far sooner than later."

"Huh… I guess we should have taken that into consideration…" Garou muttered as he stared at the chart. "Chart stays as it is, knowing Suiryu, he's just going to chalk it up to something else."

"Thinks are about to get interesting to say the least…" Melee muttered.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

The next morning.

Suiryu was still asleep in bed, but, he couldn't help but feel strange. For once, he felt as if part of his body was hanging off the bed, second, the bed felt a little deeper than it should have been. With a stretch and a yawn, he woke himself up and got up. He looked about but didn't see Alley next to him. "Guess she's at the lab again." he muttered.

He rose and left the room, yet this sensation wasn't leaving him. He felt different, heavy in a sense and a little taller. Wondering out of the room he went to the kitchen. The family was discussing the day's event when he took a seat. The table continued on with their conversation yet Suiryu was more interested in what there was to eat. Nothing appealed to him this morning, but his stomach was beginning to growl and rumble rather aggressively. "Is this all that there is for breakfast?" he asked aloud.

The table paused. "We just made it, would you like something else?" asked Melee.

"I really don't know what I want right now… I want meat… but nothing small like bacon… Although pork does sound good…"

"You looking for a roast, we don't got it in the house right now." Garou said offhandedly. "You better to go get one if you want it that badly."

Suiryu sighed aloud as he decided to go out for breakfast. "Did you want some company?" asked Hunter. "I'll go with you."

"Nah, I think I just need to figure out what I want…" Suiryu said as he scratched his stomach, but paused, looking down, he noticed he was a little bulky. "Huh? I didn't think I got that big, Melee said I put on some weight… does it look bad?" he asked.

The room filled with "No! Not at all!" "I couldn't even tell!" "You put on weight? Impossible!"

He smirked to their comments and excused himself. That idea of a pork meal really filled his mind, he was licking his lips at the thought of it all. Perhaps a quick tour of the cities will help him decide what to eat…

#

He was just over the skies of City D, peering down. Suiryu saw something rather odd. A massive beast was rampaging the city! However there was no warning system going off, nothing announcing this monster! So he took matters into his own hands. Landing within one of the busy intersections, he cut the beast off, but paused. "It's not a monster?" he muttered. It was a massive wild boar that had somehow made its way out of the forest and into the busy streets, yet the pig wasn't going to go back to the wood quietly to say the least!

Suiryu on the other hand was already envisioning this creature on a nice fire spit!

"Suiryu! Thank goodness you're here! Can you get that thing out? It's tried to trample so many people!"

"My pleasure!" he said with a grin.

As his eyes locked onto the boar, the boar was staring at him with a menacing glare. "That's right, come to papa!" Suiryu said as he tried to clear away his drool. 'Damn, I wonder why I am acting like this… why does my throat feel odd all of a sudden?' he thought.

The boar came charging, squealing aloud until Suiryu felt something build up from inside of him, he began to cough aloud until he took a deep breath. A sneeze suddenly came on, and he unleashed it towards the boar… with a torrent of fire!

The pig was caught up in the flames, breathing them in and was quickly killed from the blast. The people cheered aloud, Suiryu on the other hand was breathing in the smell of the roasted hog. "Put out the fire!" a man called to the others on the street.

"Hold it!" Suiryu protested. "It's still cooking!"

People froze.

"You're… you're going to eat that?" one woman asked with a hint of disgust to her tone.

Suiryu was licking his lips in anticipation of the feast.

The flames went out on their own, but gave the boar a brilliant char. The skin perfectly crisp and would crack under the smallest of pressure, he even tested it out as he saw the fat ooze and the meat drip with flavoring. "Oh man…" he muttered. Without hesitation he leaned in and tore off the first chunk of flesh. The juice was exquisite, the meat tender and succulent.

He needed more of it!

Suiryu sat himself down and ate to his heart's content…

#

He didn't want to go, but Melee insisted.

Garou had to find Suiryu and make certain he was okay. Through the skies he couldn't see where he had gone, however thankfully, twitter was more than willing to help guide him.

"Suiryu eating a monstrous pig in City D."

"Three tons of pork in a single sitting, someone call a doctor…"

Tweet after tweet he read but smirked. "Well, guess he found something to eat."

Garou went to City D, and could found Suiryu by the smell of roasted pork that linger in the air. By the time his feet hit the ground, he saw him. Suiryu was taking the last bit of flesh from his kill and ate it without hesitation. Yet, he couldn't bring himself to get up, he was too full from his meal. "Garou… Garou is Suiryu okay?" a woman asked with a slight panic in her voice.

"Just fine." Garou insisted. He approached him and looked over the remains. The pig was picked clean, down to the bone, Suiryu was covered in grease and yet appeared very content. "You ate well."

He was slightly started by his voice, but calmed himself down. "Yeah… didn't think I would eat the whole thing!"

"No shit. You feeling okay? You did skip dinner yesterday too."

"Oh yeah…" Suiryu thought. Garou offered him a hand to help him up. When Suiryu got to his feet he froze as he realized he was very bloated in appearance. "Oh… oh dear God, what have I done to myself!"

"You ate." Garou explained. "You may have over done it but you body will crave what it needs will it not?"

Suiryu paused and nodded. "Yeah… guess it wanted me to be a fat bastard today…"

"It never hurts to indulge every so often. Come on, let's get to the Association and clean you up. You ain't fitting into the showers at home!"

Suiryu smirked as he tried to flap his wings for flight, however. He was too heavy. He paused for a moment as he turned to his own wings. It was then Garou saw them starting to grow! Thicker, stronger the wings began to grow bigger and bigger! Until, he was able to flap them once and get himself off the ground! "Okay, let's go then" Suiryu announced.

He let him go on ahead of him. Garou smirked as he followed suit. "This guy is gonna be full of surprises," he muttered.

By the time they landed at the Association, Suiryu ventured off to the room where they would have kept the six to allow them to sleep. But first, he headed to the industrial showers, cleaned himself up before heading to the room to sleep. When the doors closed there were heroes already gathered. "Nothing yet?" they asked.

"Nope, he did skip dinner last night so he is chalking up his hunger to that." Garou explained.

"Damn!" those that had the square where he would learn the day after the bet was placed was starting to get concerned. They will no doubt he out of the bet by the end of the day.

With Suiryu looked after, Garou sighed, he had to get home to prepare for the interview at Oni's sumo stable…


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

He dressed up.

Tempest had found his nano bots Alley placed into his transformation device could be programed to change the clothing into a more elegant and sophisticated look. He altered it to become dress pants and a shirt and appeared rather dapper doing so. Taking a deep breath he looked himself in the mirror and nodded to his appearance. Today is the day he sees if he can continue on his dream.

As he left the room, he found his mother had also dressed for the occasion, even his father went the extra mile! He wore white dress pants and a shirt of all things, he retracted not just his dragons, but wings as well to appear less threatening than before. With that, he gave a nod. It was time to go.

Tempest gulped his nerves as his mother flew them over the mountain and into City Y. When their feet hit the ground, they approached the sumo stables. There, they stood.

Everyone under the guidance of Onimaru, await him. But, a pale look came over their faces as their eyes came upon Garou. "You can't be serious!" one shouted.

"This isn't fair, this isn't right! He's the son of Garou!" protested Ryo.

Onimaru was just as stunned, yet held off on his words. Tempest was about to speak until his father's arm went up. "I got this." He approached them alone, the sumos stood on edge as the human monster came closer. Then, as he stared into each of their faces, he did something Tempest never thought he would.

He went on his knees, bowing his head and offered his sincerest apologies!

"The actions I have committed here are mine and mine alone. Please, I ask of you, do not bind my son to these sins against your stable." He said with great sincerity. "I will accept punishment for my misdoings, but do not punish my son!"

His mother followed suit as she too bowed her head to Onimaru and the others. "My son… has never had a dream like this before. Please, do not take it away from him, do not let the cause of one hinder that of another who has done no wrong."

He was moved to tears. His father on the ground, his mother bowing with great respect to those before her. "Mom… dad…" he whispered.

"He has already soiled the name of sumo!" one protested. "His father has shown great disrespect towards us in the past…"

"Enough." Onimaru ordered, his attention turned to Tempest's father. "Stand." He said.

Slowly, he rose once more. "Please, I will accept…"

"That's enough of that. In the past, yes, you have disrespected our stable. But also recent actions have saved it. You do not recall, a few years back, our city was under attack. This dojo was going to be destroyed had you not appeared. You saved it." Onimaru explained.

"Then, Tempest…"

"He is welcomed to join us. I do ask though, if this becomes too much for him, will you train him?" There came an odd smirk over Onimaru. "You know how he trains, what technique we use and how to achieve the results we desire. If he does not want to train here, I ask of you to continue it with him."

It was the strangest request Tempest ever heard. Onimaru wants his father to train him if this isn't suitable? He gave a proud nod. "I got him this far." He said with a smirk.

This stunned the other sumos greatly. Tempest began to approach as his mother embraced him tightly. "Call if you want to leave, but as what was just said. Your father will continue to train you if you wish to continue."

"Thanks mom."

Tempest then turned to his father. There were no words as he pulled him into his arms and embraced him wholeheartedly. "Thank you…" he whispered.

"Any time," as he pulled away, his father gave him a good slap on the back. "Kick some ass!"

He watched his parents leave as he turned to the sumo stables. He carried but a small duffle bag of clothing, it would be his first time away from home. Hopefully his heart will be able to take it.

#

He never knew what to expect.

Tempest only read about sumo life on line and in books, but it appears to all be true, as well as the traditions and customs that follow. Being the newest member, when it comes to meals. Not only does he have to cook everything for his seniors, he must wait until the very end to eat. Perhaps his little habit he developed when he was young will pay off here. He always ate last anyways! But there was far more to it than this. They will start training at five in the morning, they will go for hours until it is time to eat. "Our main concern with you is weight," Onimaru stated. "You have the skills yet… lack size in a sense. You are still young so we can work with this. However our main concern is to bulk you up!"

Tempest looked over himself. He really doesn't fit in as a sumo wrestler looking lean and trim. "I have tried," he explained. "No matter what I eat though, I cannot appear any bigger."

"We have a technique for that." Onimaru said with a grin. "For now, let us celebrate our new arrival! We will have a feast in his honor!"

The others cheered aloud to the notion, yet as he smiled to the thought of it all, Tempest already felt the animosity growing against him in the room…

#

He was surprised to find a mawashi belt in his bag.

The moment he made his way into the stable, he searched his bag and found one in there! Apparently his sister Athena made it and left a note. "I've decided to try making my own clothing line, but first I had to make this. I hope it works! Athena." He read to himself.

He smiled to hi sister's efforts, the remarkable thing is it fit him perfectly despite the fact Athena never took measurements from him!

He remembered the one he wore at the Association when his father insisted he train himself being comfortable wearing such a thing. It was awkward as people stopped and stared at him, however he remembered the reaction he got out of Misty. Since then, it's been his focus, think of her reaction and hers alone.

He stared in the mirror once more as he looked over his gear "Damn, I feel naked…" he muttered, but he had to get over that, after all everyone else is wearing one. It's to show all who witness the battle that these men are depending on nothing more than their own strengths. With that, he took a deep breath and joined practice.

When he walked out wearing one, the others paused and stared at him oddly. "That boy has to get some meat on his bones, that's a pathetic look to a mawashi belt!"

There was no issue in training when Onimaru was around. Everyone treated him with respect and like a fellow sumo. But he learned the harsh truth a few days later when Onimaru was out.

Despite the time he spent with the others as they trained lifting weights, doing drills and a light sparring session. When it came time to eat, he would wait his turn as tradition dictated, yet he found when Onimaru wasn't around, things changed drastically. When it came to his turn, he found little left in food. "Oh, I didn't make enough…" he thought. He ate what he could but soon found that this wasn't an accident.

Lunch was the same issue, but there was even less food. Dinner, there was nothing leftover for him. He started to see that he wasn't wanted here, and the top sumos of the stable were going to starve him out. It went on for three days, to the point Tempest was starving. He sighed and decided to step outside for some night air. Training was done for the day, so he figured he would call up Misty. She was busy with her internship to say the least, the chief wanted to take them on as apprentices, but he turned down the offer to become a sumo wrestler. Misty on the other hand jumped at the chance.

He called her up to see what she was up to. "Tempest! How the sumo stables?" she asked.

He didn't want to tell her it was bad, but it was also only a few days in. "It's okay, it's a big…"

GRUMBLE…

He froze as his stomach roared. "Was that your stomach!?" she demanded.

"Oh… yes, I didn't quite have dinner yet… there doesn't appear to be much to eat…" the phone went dead. "Misty?" he asked, but wondered if perhaps it was a bad connection. He tried again but she wasn't answering. "Did I say something wrong?"

He sighed and went back inside, the others were playing cards and yet no one invited him to join. He was going to go to bed to sleep when a car screeched outside of the dojo. "What the hell is that?"

They were curious and went to the front door, as they opened it, Misty stood there. She appeared rather angry to say the least as her eyes flared like a fiery rage! "Where is Tempest!" she demanded.

He froze to her tone. Tempest came from the dorm and saw her standing at the front door, pissed off to say the least. "Misty…"

"Outside, this instant!" she demanded.

The sumos Oooo and laughed at him being demanded around by this young woman. However, she was very good looking to say the least. Yet as he stepped outside the door, he froze to the sight of a food truck! "Misty…"

"I borrowed the catering truck, also our cooking instructor heard me over the phone, guess what. We got leftovers from today's job!" she opened up the back of the truck and revealed the food she brought along. "You are not leaving here until you have had your fill… understood?" she said in a stern tone.

He smiled and nodded full heartedly.

He sat at the end of the truck and began to help himself. The food was divine to say the least, yet it brought unwanted attention. "ARE YOU GOING OFF DIET!"

The largest sumo was named Ryo, and he ran the stable when Onimaru wasn't there. Needless to say who is behind the notion of starving him out. "I haven't eaten yet, in fact, I haven't eaten well in three days!" Tempest protested.

"You are to eat with us and eat what we eat! This is unacceptable!" he protested.

Misty however stood there with her arms crossed. "Really? Is it not dishonorable for a sumo to neglect his fellow stable mates when it comes to training? Is he not helping you grow stronger and in return you refused to offer him the same courtesy he has given you!" she demanded. "I get it, this is hazing in the stables, pick on the new guy… or are you simply too terrified of him that he's is far better than you anticipated… in fact, he's far better than you are at sumo!"

There was silence.

Tempest ate everything Misty brought for him, enough to satisfy him and end the hunger pain he had endured. "Oh, that was good!" he purred.

She smiled as he stood up from the truck. He embraced her whole-heartedly. "Thank you for the wonderful meal."

She hugged him back. "Any time big boy, now, got back in there and train until you become the best!"

It was the little pep talk he needed to get by. She packed the truck back up and drove home, yet there came a glare on the other sumos. Some were impressed, but those who were with Ryo were not…

#

They were a lot rougher with him than usual. Tempest endured the strikes, the stiff blows and even moves that are not to be in sumo wrestling by these six larger men in the stables. But he endured. He had to.

He would suffer a full week of abuse from them. They starved him, beat him as much as they could, and yet despite it all. None gained a victory from Tempest when they sparred with him.

He was in the middle of yet another sparring session with Ryo. He was going at him with everything he had and demanded that Tempest not fight back as part of his 'balance' training. Time and time again, he endured the largest of the sumos throwing his full weight into him, in hopes of knocking him down. But to no avail.

"Why don't you just leave!" demanded Ryo. "You are not needed here, I was to be the one to defeat Raiden, not you!"

"Then get stronger rather than focus your energy on me!" Tempest scolded.

"You distract all who are here! You are only here because you are the son of Garou, despite the fact you look NOTHING like him! What were you, a reject or something? Your old man didn't even want you around so he sent you here!" laughed Ryo.

He began to think things over but sighed aloud. "You know what… fine!" he announced. "I will leave!" This stunned the stables, Ryo was grinning with victory. "I'll go independent. And knock you down a few pegs on my way to become Yokozuna!"

"Big talk for a small man!"

Tempest glared at him. "Watch yourself… you'll be knocked off your feet again in no time."

Tempest began left the spar room and began to pack his things, he was nearly done when a commotion broke out. Oni returned.

"What do you mean he's leaving!?"

"He doesn't have the heart to be a sumo wrestler, that's all." Ryo lied.

Tempest changed into his civilian clothing as he emerged from the room. He glared at Ryo before turning to Oni. "I will go train with my father, I'll be independent from this moment on. Thank you for the lessons I learned, I assure you… I took them all to heart."

Oni was devastated, but his glare turned to Ryo. Yet, as he looked back to Tempest he nodded in agreement. "I have spoke with your father, I have no doubt in my mind that he will train you well, and not to mention challenge you where you can grow. Be well, Tempest."

He gave a gracious bow and walked out. He was there for just over a week in the stables and he was already out the door. He didn't feel challenged either. He was holding back his strength for the sake of the others, but now, he has to push himself farther and harder than ever before.

For that, he needs his father.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

The first day Tempest was gone. Melee was worried. It was the first time he has left the house… come to think of it, she realized he was the FIRST to leave the house and be on his own!

With the exception of Pac leaving to find himself.

For most of the day she went home and paced about, waiting to see if he would call to want to come home. Yet the thought was quickly put out of her mind when Garou insisted he would be fine. "He's stronger than he looks, you know that right? Besides, we got our hands full with Suiryu."

"He's still at the Association?"

"Out like a light." Garou said and smirked. He pulled out his little black book and began scratching off names. "Newbies had no idea how to place a bet, let alone understand how overlooking Suiryu can be on various things." He said and closed it up again.

"So… what happened to him this morning?"

"Well, from what I could tell, it was a wild boar from the mountains somehow made it into the city, a three ton beast, would have been a decent snack for me that wasn't monster based. Yet, Suiryu somehow managed to cook the bastard and eat it all!"

Melee paused. "Cooked it? Where could he have found something large enough to cook a three ton animal?" she demanded.

Garou shrugged. "I did notice his breath was getting rather… pungent to say the least as of late… I think he has developed a new skill."

"A new skill?" she froze to the notion. "Does this mean he is becoming more monster like than before?!"

Garou blew off the notion. "Not likely, I think he has always had this ability but hasn't used it since he didn't need it, until now. Besides, fire breathing is more common in monsters than you think…"

"I could care less about that, I just want to be sure Suiryu is safe and isn't turning any farther… so… how on earth he is holding Alley in himself?!"

He snickered to the question and scratched his chin. "I wonder that too, I thought his wings would have come down around him and braced her closer to his body, but that apparently isn't it since he flew today, not to mention it wouldn't have made a good barrier if someone attacked him, too thin to say the least."

Melee was curious but at the same time didn't wish to know what was happening either, but all that mattered to her was knowing her daughter is safe and taken care of. "Do you think Tempest is going to be okay?" she asked.

Garou was silent on the notion, the smile he had vanished as he appeared to really think over his answer. "I think… it's going to be a lot harder on him than most. Those guys know what he can do, he has intimidated many of them. One apparently appears to be the top student of Oni… at least, he WAS." Garou said. "They are going to haze him, that is certain. I am more concerned though for his well being, if they really go at him, it could put him off becoming a sumo wrestler."

Melee nodded in agreement. After she and Garou lowered their heads to Oni, she could sense the malic among the students as Tempest was welcomed in. There were looks of anger, some of fear when they realized Tempest was a son of Garou and Melee. The target on his back must have gotten bigger because of it. She could see the look of concern in his eyes, Garou fell into deep though over the matter at hand, but kept silent.

She knew him well enough though, if push comes to shove, he would be at the ready to take over training. He has been reading up on everything he could about sumo wrestling, he knows every stance, move and strike there is to know. Melee has no doubt that he will take Tempest's training to the next level should the moment present itself.

"Perhaps for now it's best we check on the other kids. I know Yuuma is at the lab with Yuki and the band to get music ideas. Rimuru… I have no idea where that kid goes now a days. Athena is with Street working on a new sewing machine for herself. Snek and his kids are take naps from yesterday's hunt…"

"I thought we were just keeping tabs on our kids!" Garou protested and smirked. "Huh… come to think of it, Titan hasn't come from his room yet has he?"

"I haven't seen him all day, and he give me a hug the moment he wakes up in the morning…" curious now. Garou excused himself as he checked the rooms. When he returned, he appeared surprised. "He's not here… where the hell did that kid go off to?"

#

Amai was in a mood.

He sat there cross armed as he was presented with various outfits to wear for the new reality TV show he was forced to host. He has no intention of making the contest fun, if anything, he will put these bands out of show business before even breaking into it! However, due to contract obligations, he has little choice in the matter. Now, he was choosing his clothing, but none of the designers appealed to him nor their offerings. "I wore something like that last year. Next!" he called callously.

He came in.

Vestor was smiling as he wheeled in his offerings to Amai Mask. The designer is one of his favorites to say the least, he knows how to bring out his eyes. "Mr. Amai! It is wonderful to see you again!"

"Vestor, I have no time for idol chitchat. What do you have?"

The smile didn't vanish on his face as he searched the rack and found something in particular. He pulled it out and revealed a lavishing red suit. Amai paused to it as he stood up from his chair with great curiosity. "Interesting… what is it?"

"This is a red suit recently made by one of my new designers. It's a crush velvet with a nice silk under layer. It is very flexible as well, if need be and you must rush into action to battle a monster… monster blood will not stain it the least bit!"

He touched the material in hand and felt how soft it was, he grew curious enough to try it on. The suit fit like a glove, however it clashed with his hair. "It is indeed well made, yet it does not suit my hair."

"I agree, however if anything, your face appears just that much brighter. The blue does clash against the red, but look at how it highlights your features!" Vestor stated.

Amai did another look, and he was right. The more he stared into the large mirror before him, the more he realized his face was the center of attention, not the suit. "Very well, I'll keep this one. What else do you have?"

Vestor's smile only grew as he went through other outfits. Some newly made from monster pelts, yet the leather was softened up and colored for his liking. Nearly everything he was shown, Amai kept to wear for the show. "Vestor, I must say, I don't think I have ever chosen this much clothing from you."

He bowed meekly. "Thank you for your kind words Amai, but I do admit. I merely observed and guided the one who made these pieces. I did not make any of them."

"Oh? So you have found yourself an heir to your fashion kingdom have you?"

"You know me too well, I just took this one on recently. She has worked for me for only a few days, but has already proven her worth. I hope you don't mind though, I have given her fashion name based off of you. I call her Amelia Amai!" he said.

He froze to the name, Amai slowly turned to Vestor and asked. "Is this girl… beautiful? Would you say she looked like me?" he asked.

Vestor paused as he looked over Amai, but he instantly shook his head to the notion. "Not in the least bit."

He sighed with relief. "Very well then, I will allow you to call her that for the sake of your industry."

"Oh, you are too kind sir. Now, do any of these need to be adjusted?"

"No, they all remarkably fit like a glove. Thank you Vestor."

He bowed once more and left the clothing behind. Amai began to go through each of the pieces once more, he found it remarkable that despite some of them being outfits, they are able to mix and match with others among the collection to create a whole new look. "Hm, this designer has great potential…" he muttered. He made the call to have the new wardrobe sent to his apartment in City R.

With that finally done for the day, Amai decided to take some time to himself. He got a message from Latina recently, she wanted to meet him for coffee. "Perhaps she is coming around…" he thought.

Wasting little time, Amai went to the coffee shop Latina wanted to meet him at. He found her there, yet she was talking it up with someone. She was even laughing aloud! "What… who is with her?"

He approached the table, his blood ran cold as he saw him. One of the six was sitting across from her, making Latina laugh. "On Titan, you're too much at times!" she snickered.

"What… is the meaning of this?" Amai demanded through gritted teeth.

Titan looked up and smiled. "Oh he's here. Well I'll take my leave then…"

As he stood up, Amai grabbed his shoulder and forced him back down again. "Sit…" he growled.

Titan showed no fear, he shrugged his shoulders and sat back down as Amai took a seat next to Latina. "How… did you two meet? This isn't what I was expecting when you asked me to join you for coffee!" he whispered angrily.

Latina smiled. "Relax, nothing is going on between us. If anything, you can thank Titan for convincing me to give you another chance. As to how I know him, he saved my life when one of the stunts went wrong and my harness failed. After he saved me, I bought him lunch. We started talking about you and that was when he convinced me to speak with you again."

He paused to her words. "What do you mean by that?"

"Latina told me what happened between you and her from… a while back." Titan explained. "I tried to tell her the pressure you must have been under, as well as how hard it was for you to endure such a thing… I may not like you very much, but I am not one to hinder someone's happiness either. She made you happy. You made her happy. Why can't you be together?"

He was stunned silent.

He never expected that one of the six would try and rekindle something he loss. Turning to Latina she nodded her head. "For a kid so young, he's got a good head on his shoulders."

"I prefer to see people happy than upset to say the least. I am going to take my leave now…" Titan tried to stand up once more, but Latina grabbed his arm, gently.

"Wait… stay…"

Titan froze but he smiled and nodded. He didn't say much, merely observed as Amai and Latina were rekindling their relationship. She was curious though, as her eyes appeared to kept drifting back towards Titan. "Amai… will you tell me about him when you are ready?" she whispered.

Sweet Mask paused, he looked to Titan who continued to smile warmly. "I have a feeling you know quite a bit already…" Amai said.

"I know some information from him… but not from you." She said.  
"But I know you well enough, you don't want me to know everything, at least not just yet,"

Amai was about to speak until a look came over Titan. He paused oddly as he stared between to two before uttering. "I understand."

"Huh?" Amai questioned.

"I understand now…" with that, he stood up and walked out of the café. Even Latina was confused by his actions. "What… what was he talking about?"

"Excuse me…"

Amai was quick to rush after him. Titan didn't go very far. In fact, he was leaning against the wall of the café and appeared to be deep in thought. "Hey… what was that about? Why are you even here talking to her? Why are you trying to get us back together!?" Amai demanded of him.

Titan appeared to be in his own little world, he wasn't looking at Sweet Mask the least bit. Amai turned to leave when he heard. "You wanted to protect her."

He paused to his words. "What?" he demanded.

"Why you distanced yourself from her when this was happening, before the house of whatever got to you… you were worried that they would go after her next. Weren't you? You never believed she was part of that ploy did you?"

Amai was silent, he turned and glared at Titan. "What if I said I did believe it?"

The boy smirked. "Then you are a bigger fool than I realized, perhaps I am giving you too much credit here too." Titan picked himself off the wall and smiled. "Perhaps the reason you keep your distance is that you don't what the same incident to happen again. Even though… she is someone you love," he whispered. "I can understand you would keep your distance for such a thing, however it does not help the heart nor the person in the long run."

"What would you know?" Amai asked. "What makes you an expert on the matters of the heart?"

Titan smiled. "Because, I've see what people do out of love for another. My siblings and I are a living example of that. My parents… didn't have to raise us, treat us like their own. We could have been left to fend for ourselves, and yet, we were given the same nurturing as my siblings before me. If that isn't love, then perhaps I still need to learn more about it. Maybe you do too."

With that, the boy named Titan turned and walked away. Amai however smirked slightly at the notion. The boy believes he knows more about love than him? He's sadly mistaken, but for now, he will enjoy his time and rekindling with Latina.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Oh I LOVE this sound!"

"But I like this band better…"

"Maybe we ought to try this sound too?"

Yuuma and the others have been listening to music non stop. There were so many different bands that they could borrow from, and yet the sounds were each different an unique to their ears. Yuuma loved the harder stuff, same with Jason. Akira liked light and easy listening. Drax enjoyed rock, Luna and Eclipsa enjoyed pop and instrumental.

"So many choices. I want to try that Bad Wolves song, Zombie!" said Jason.

"How ironic," snickered Eclipsa.

"Shut up!" Jason said jokingly but laughed as well.

"I like City and Color." Akira explained.

"Foo Fighters!" called Drax.

"Disturbed, and those other ones we listened to… Alexisonfire, Stone Sour…"

"I am certain we can use all elements and music. So, how about this, we pick our favorite songs and we practice those!" said Drax.

"Agreed!" everyone announced.

The door to the room suddenly opened, a very distended Suiryu wondered in but paused. "Huh, has anyone seen Alley?" he asked.

They fell oddly silent, until Yuuma cleared his throat. "She was in the lab earlier, but I think has taken off for lunch or something. We really haven't noticed her since we've been listening to music." Yuuma explained.

"Oh… okay…" Suiryu said and paused. "Hey… do I look weird?" he asked.

"Why are you asking such a thing?" questioned Akira.

"I just feel weird, my stomach feel odd too, it's like it's growling but not hungry…"

"Maybe you just need to rest a little more, you do look tired and drink some water." Suggested Luna.

"Good call, thanks…" he walked out of the room shortly after, yet everyone was stunned as they turned to Luna.

"What?" she asked.

"Normally, you blab" said Eclipsa.

"Like a canary," chimed Akira.

Luna however smirked. "I grew out of it."

"I doubt that," said Jason. But then he looked at her oddly. "Were you bribed?"

"What makes you think I can be bribed?!" she demanded.

"Let's move on, shall we?" asked Yuuma.

They listened to their favorite songs over and over again, but the problem soon arise. "Wait, how can we play any of this if we don't have proper sheet music?" asked Jason. "Sure we can try to do it by memory, but it won't have the same sensation now would it?"

"Yeah, that's true…" Yuuma said and sighed. "Could uncle Street or Knuckle be able to turn this into sheet music?"

"I never thought about asking them!" said Drax. "Great idea Yuuma!"

"Also, since we are going to have personas, should we also have stage names?" asked Luna.

"Yeah… huh…" Yuuma paused as he thought it over. "We can go by wolf like names, you know. Timber, Alpha, Omega…"

"Sounds like a plan…"

"But let's focus on the music for now,"

Drax however insisted on one thing. "I think Alpha would be your name, Yuuma. You are going to be the led singer aren't you?" he asked.

"You sure that's okay?" Yuuma asked.

They all nodded in agreement

"And with that, we got the idea in place for band names!" laughed Jason. "That was far faster than I anticipated…"

"Anyway, let's go talk with Uncle Street and Knuckle, maybe they can help us." Said Akira.

#

They managed to find Knuckle wondering about the halls. Drax was the one to approach him on the idea of getting sheet music for their band. However he appeared more curious than anything. "Huh. I never done something like that before… this could be interesting!"

They brought him back to the room, where the alien device that played the music resided. Knuckle approached the thing and began to fiddle with it. "So how does this work?"

"We just turn the knobs, however if we know the name of the band, it will automatically find it for us." Explained Yuuma.

"Okay, so let's try it out, what band do you want music for?"

"Let's do Jason's band. Bad Wolves, Zombie." Said Drax.

The gang agreed. Knuckle fiddled with the dial and then the music played. He paused and listened to it before nodding his head. He enjoyed the sound by the looks of it, and then, the song ended.

"Well?" asked Jason.

"Well what? Good music to say the least."

"Can you make sheet music from the song? So we all know what to play?"

Knuckle smirked as his chest opened up, suddenly, a thin piece of paper began to trickle out from between his pecs until he gently removed and offered the paper to Jason. "You mean something like that?"

Jason looked it over, his eyes widened. "It's the sheet music!"

"What other songs you got?"

For the next few hours, Knuckle would stay with them as they picked out various songs. There was one Eclipsa wanted that took the longest. It was called the Poet and the Pendulum by Nightwish; it was a complex song with instrumental, opera like singing and heavy metal. But she was in love with it.

With their music printed off. Yuuma was smiling from ear to ear. "We got music, we got personas, I guess all that's left is costumes right?"

"Yeah we best look the part and have something to go with our masks…" Jason thought.

"Oh that's easy. Go to a warehouse discount place, get some of their fake fur blankets but sew them in such a way that you can make vests and clothing from it. I will give you a rugged and wild appearance… learned that from a show called game of thrones and their costume design team!"

"Game of what?" asked Drax.

"Never mind, alternative world stuff… I got a lot of time on my hands."

For the full week they rehearsed their chosen music until they could play without the need of the sheets. It became second nature to them, and the songs were ingrained into their minds and their fingers. Drax was rather proud of their accomplishment. It was clear that everyone wanted this, and willing to work hard to obtain it.

By the end of the week, Knuckle had come by to listen to them play.

They sounded perfect.

Knuckle appeared to groove to the music rehearsed before him. He would test out how well they were synced by throwing in different problems a band may have live. One moment a mic is cut off, which forces the others to catch and pick up the slack, another time is when the guitar suddenly looses a string. Third, he had them switch up instruments and see who could play what. They were quite versatile to say the least. Yuuma learned to play the drums; Akira bass, Jason keyboard, Luna guitar. Drax however was quite good at playing anything and everything as it was.

They were ready.

Yuki also finished his latest device for the triplets. Bracelets that snapped on their wrists that sent out nanobots across their bodies. With a quick swipe, their scales hid and they appeared human! Now, for the look. The wolf masks are cool, but they need to go a little farther. They took Knuckle up on his advice and went to a massive warehouse store and got the fake fur blankets he spoke of. They made vests and crop tops out of the blankets and gave themselves a rather rugged look. "You are raised by wolves you got to look the part to say the least, right?"

"Nice!" Drax said as he tried on his. The boys wore vests, the girls did as well but ensured it covered them up tastefully. The pants they wore tattered jeans with worn in boots. The look was complete!

"Wow, we're really a band!" said Yuuma.

"Yeah, wait until you start playing in front of people!" teased Knuckle.

"Actually, we are going to try and get into the reality show Amai is starting. We know he is going to raise hell to say the least for those involved. He's told me countless times how much he doesn't want to do this." Drax explained. He still shuttered at the thought of it all. When Amai isn't happy, NO one is happy!

"I think it's going to be fun. Imagine how frustrated he is going to be if we can counter all of his curve balls?" snickered Akira. "I can't wait!"

Yuuma smirked at the notion. "I wanted this to be a revenge band against him, but Drax told me we need to play for us and not for him. I get it now. If I had become so consumed with taking Amai down a few pegs, this would not have been fun to do. But now, it is fun, we're enjoying it and that's all that matters!"

"Wow, he has matured!" whispered Luna.

"He's come a lot farther than Garou did in such a short time," snickered Knuckle.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"I don't know if I am feeling right doc… can you help me out?"

For the week, Suiryu has been a nervous wreck.

He has noticed his appetite increasing; he's been sleeping a lot more, not to mention the sudden weight gain. "I mean, my God, I nearly look like Pig God now!"

"You got a LONG way to go before you reach his level," corrected Yuki. However his joke didn't get a reaction out of Suiryu. He sighed aloud and said. "Perhaps you are looking at this all wrong. I mean what would cause something like this to you? You are always cautious with your training as well as your food intake when you are working out. Could something have changed recently?"

Suiryu shook his head, he was scared and unsure about it all. "I don't know anymore… I feel something is wrong with me. Also I haven't seen Alley in a week! Is she that upset with me? Did I really anger her from our argument? Genus? Was I being an asshole?"

"I don't wish to get involved with that notion. All I will say is this, couples will argue when they are concerned about the other's well being. When one becomes… obsessive to say the least over the other, perhaps they are trying to indicate something is off about their mate and wish to ensure they are safe."

Suiryu blinked a few times, just as his stomach agitated oddly. "Damn, there it goes again! It's like something is fighting me in there!"

Yuki sighed as he took out his phone, he set a text message and waited.

Before long, Garou appeared and saw Yuki and pointed to Suiryu. "Garou… hey have you see Alley? I'm getting worried about her… also something is happening to me… I don't know what but I want to be sure Alley's okay!"

He was panicked, Garou sighed aloud to it all, his hands went on his hips as he pulled out a little black book from his side and checked something quickly. With a nod he turned to Suiryu and said very bluntly. "Alley's pregnant, and you are holding on to her in your body for safe keeping. That aggressive grumbling you got, it's her."

It was so silent, one could hear a pin drop in the lab. Suiryu forced a smile. "You… you're joking, right? Me… a dad?!"

"You raised Boros,"

Suiryu's heart began to race in his chest, he nearly collapsed when Yuki was able to shove a chair under him before he fell back. As he sat there, he stared at his stomach and then at Garou. "It's… the same thing you do with Melee isn't it?"

"Tch, not really, I still don't know how you are containing her. But according to Genus, monsters who are powerful enough to hold their own, will tend to hoard their mate to ensure she carries full term. Not many males would do such a thing since it puts them more at risk than others. You adopted that trait so, that is why Alley is where she is. Your appetite increasing, again I don't know how this works in you, but you are eating for yourself, her and your kid. So don't think of yourself getting fat, you are ensuring there is enough to go around."

Suiryu found himself focused on Garou, taking in every piece of advice he had to offer him. "Okay… I will be careful and make certain she has plenty… but why is she moving about so aggressively, Melee never did that to you!"

"I think you may have caught her off guard doing this… She may not understand where she is right now, and remember, she's a stubborn one!"

He smirked to the reminder. Of course he knew that, Alley's a very determined young woman. Not much in his world can stop her when she wants something done!

"Okay…" Suiryu managed to say as he still tried to wrap his mind around it all, he caressed his stomach but smirked again. "I'm really going to be a dad…" he then paused and realized. "You okay being a grandfather?!"

"Shut the hell up," growled Garou. "You call me that and not my actual name, I'll be sure this is the first and only kid you have! Got it?"

He was dead serious, Suiryu nodded his head as Garou walked out of the room. Yuki on the other hand was smirking and snickering to it all. "Man, it took you a week to realize you had Alley?!"

"YOU KNEW!"

"Of course we did," said Genus as he continued to have his nose in his work. "But we couldn't tell you in case you got too upset and would disrupt Alley."

"Oh…"

"Now with that settled, can we have the lab back?" Yuki asked. "Don't get me wrong, it's great having you here, but you are kinda distracting, and no doubt you are just going to get Alley worked up since we're out here working and she isn't."

"Oh, right, yeah… okay…" Suiryu slowly got himself up and out of the chair, he then wondered what he was going to do with himself, knowing the truth now, he didn't know where to go from here!

#

The pool was over and the winnings were paid out.

How did Snek of all people win the pot?!

Garou tried to figure out how Snek won the whole thing, but decided it wasn't worth the effort. So instead, he wondered about the association trying to think of something to do.

His mind drifted as he thought of Tempest. A full week he has been gone, but hasn't heard a word from him. Garou had half a mind to go and check up on him just to be sure he is happy where he is

A part of him is hoping he isn't.

He admitted to himself, the training he and Tempest did was fun. It has been a while since he was able to train in something different, let alone pass off his knowledge and skills to another. He was about to head out and do patrols when he paused. Tempest appeared, just walking in the doors with his duffle bag in hand! "Kid?" Garou asked.

Garou looked to him, there was this fire in his eyes he had never seen before. "Dad… train me to become a Yokozuna!" he said in great determination. "I want to become Yokozuna!"

Garou grinned wickedly. "I'm going to warn you here and now. You are going to hate me when this is all said and done, understood?" he asked. "I will push you to your brink and demand you go farther… I will make you wish you never had a human form!"

Tempest dropped his bag before staring him down. "Do… your… worst!"

Garou froze, he nearly didn't know what to say but the smile on him grew. "Alright. Let's get started!" He led Tempest one of the main sparring rooms. From there Garou closed the door tightly and close off the windows so no one could peer in. "Your shiko squats, are to promote balance and strengthen your legs. Here's a new one for you." Garou went into the squat position, yet he arched his left leg up as if he were to do a squat, but he then kept extending his limb higher and higher until his toes pointed to the sky, he balanced himself on one leg and turned to Tempest. "Do this, but hold your position. I want this held for five minutes on each leg. No trembling, no wavering!" he demanded.

Tempest nodded as he followed suit. But first he had to get into uniform. He changed into his mawashi belt and loincloth, and then stood at the ready. As Garou instructed he lifted his leg and then brought it up high, Tempest took a few try to gain his proper balance until he held it in place. Unwavering, he kept his position, it was his first time trying and it took a lot more effort than it appeared. His leg quivered and be couldn't hold it for the allotted time asked. If anything, he could do it for one whole minute, nothing more or less.

When his leg came down again, Tempest appeared defeated. He tried again with the other leg, but only got the same result of one minute. Garou could tell he was straining his body, his legs tensed up, his body shuttered under the pressure as the sweat already began to bead down his face. But, Tempest was up for it. He wanted this! Despite being unable to hold for five minutes, Garou was satisfied he could do it for a solid sixty seconds. It goes to show there is room for improvement.

He barely managed to do the other leg, by the looks of it, his limbs quivered from the shock, but he didn't announce he needed a break, not yet. Garou smirked and nodded. "Do we continue?"

"Yes!"

#

They went for hours.

Garou pushing him to the brink. Despite the sweat, the pain and the look of discomfort Tempest displayed on his face, he refused to announce he needed to rest. The last exercise Garou had him do would be enough for the day. It is known as a suicide squat. Bending his legs to hold him up and yet remains in that position for as long as possible against the wall. Tempest's legs trembled within two minutes; he tried to bare it until his legs gave in. He fell to his knees and appeared disappointed in it all. "DAMN IT!" he protested.

"Easy kiddo, I put you through the wringer today, you did remarkably well," Garou insisted.

"It's not that dad!" he protested. "I wasted a week at that stable when you could have pushed me farther than they did. Dad… I had to hold back around them. They looked strong, but those I needed to spar with weren't putting in the effort…"

Garou became intrigued. "Is that so… they have NO IDEA what you are capable of then huh?" he asked.

"No, I never really got the chance to show them…"

"Perfect."

"Huh?"

"They don't know what you can do, perfect. Look, Tempest…" Garou took a seat on the floor. "The way this works is this, there are tournaments for Sumos, held six times a year to determine rank. The more victories you obtain, the higher you go, and the closer you are to becoming Yokozuna. The thing is this, this goes by skill, and abilities. Cheep victories get you nothing, in fact they can demote you. You have to show them your power and grace in inside the ring. Now, what I am thinking is this. Every opportunity, every waking moment, if there is a sumo tournament, you enter it!" he said.

Tempest froze to the challenge. "Dad, that's a lot…"

"It can be, but… if we are to get anywhere, we need to show them what you can do and get your rank up. The more you win, the higher you go."

He thought it over. "How soon could I become Yokozuna if I do this?"

"Hard to say, I know there are some who obtain rank within four years… we ain't aiming for four years!" Garou said with a grin. "No, we're aiming for one!"

Tempest went a little pale. "One year? That's impossible!" he protested. "Some sumos will work all their lives and never even achieve the rank of Yokozuna!"

"Yes, but you are not just any sumo, you are my kid. And my kids aim to be the best a lot sooner than others. Now… as I said, you are going to HATE me for the next little while. But, if you trust me, we can do this. You trust me?"

There was a moment of hesitation, but then, that look returned to his eyes. "Yes father!" he said with great conviction.

"Good, now, first things first. I had been spying on you at the stables, I got to agree on one aspect since even Oni said you should put on some weight. You're a Brawler, it's about damn time you start looking like one!" Garou picked himself off the ground, he offered his hand to Tempest to lift him to his feet. His son graciously took it as he stood before Garou proudly.

"Dad… I'm not that hungry yet, can we keep going?" he asked.

He smirked to the request but nodded. "Let's do this then!"


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Street wondered about the Association, but stopped and stared as people began to gather around a certain window. He was curious enough to see for himself, yet there wasn't really anything to see. "Garou went in there four hours ago I think, maybe he's been in there longer." Said Stinger.

"Whose in there with him?" asked Forte.

"Well that really tall guy with the braided hair… what's his name again? He kinda looks like Amai… then again, there's quite a few that I have seen that look like Amai as of late! What the hell is that about?" Stinger said and snickered.

"Long story." Called Street. "The guy you are speaking about is Tempest. As for why he looks like Amai, I don't think I am even allow to say anything yet."

The heroes froze. "Yet?!" they demanded. "So you know!"

Street nodded his head to them, however didn't think it was the time or the place. Perhaps he should have kept his mouth shut about the incident in question. He suddenly found himself surrounded by the heroes. "Wait, is this anything like how Snek got his kids?" asked Captain Mizuki.

Street appeared curious. "What do you know about that?" he asked gently.

She shrugged her shoulders to it all. "Well, we know they came out of nowhere! Snek won't even tell us how it happened. We asked Alley but she said until Snek is willing to speak about it, she will explain everything. But he's rather tight lipped."

"Ah, for good reason then, so I cannot speak a word of this either for the time being. Just know what you have thought is true. But that is all I am going to say."

The heroes froze. "Wait… you mean to tell me… Amai Mask… has kids!?" demanded Stinger.

"They aren't his anymore." Street said as he moved himself along, however he only peeked the hero's curiosity to it all.

"Oh come on, you got to tell us now!" protested Forte.

"Yeah, you're a cyborg, you can't lie can you?" asked Death Gatling.

Street paused and turned to him with a smirk. "According to who?" he demanded. He began to walk away, yet sensed someone following him.

"Uh… coach Brawler?"

He paused to the voice of Captain Mizuki. He turned as she found herself blushing in a sense. "I know you may not be the athletic type, but I heard you can help heroes improve upon themselves. Would… you consider training me?" she asked.

It was a rather unusual request, however he nodded. "Certainly!" he said, in fact, he would be delighted. He has been admiring her from a far as of late, but had no idea as to how to approach her. Captain Mizuki appeared to have a training regiment and he didn't want to disrupt it. Yet, now, an opportunity has come! "Where did you want to improve your skill set?" he asked. "Just by looking at you I can tell you're quite strong, athletic and very versatile in various skills involving track and field training…"

She blushed to it. "Yeah, but… I could be better!" she insisted. "When do you think we can start?"

Street had never been asked such a thing before. "Let's find another spar room and see what we can do. Yet before he could find one, Garou came out of his with a very tired looking Tempest. The kid appeared to be on the brink of passing out! In fact, his eyes rolled, Garou caught him before he hit the ground but smiled to it all.

"Defiantly my kid," he said proudly.

"YOUR KID!?"

He was startled by the sudden appearance of the heroes, all who had gathered outside of the closed off spar room stopped and stared as Garou held up a worn out child of Amai Mask. "Whoa, wait, he's YOUR son?" demanded Stinger. "He looks NOTHING like you. He's Amai's isn't he?"

Garou sneered at the notion. "Never say that in front of him!" he warned. Effortlessly, he hoisted Tempest on to his shoulder. "Not a word, any of you!"

"Huh…" Tempest moaned, he suddenly came too and tried to slink out of Garou's arm. "No… not done yet" he protested weakly.

"Oh no, you're done, if not your mother will have my tail. Come on, let's get you changed and down for some rest. You need to sleep!"

"Uh… why is the kid wearing a weird underwear and nothing else?" whispered Forte.

"It's a mawashi belt." Said Street. "Traditionally used in Sumo wrestling… huh… guess the kid found an interest." He snapped out of his observation when Captain Mizuki blushed. "Oh right, sorry you're training. Let's find a place and see what can be done…"

At the same time, Street wondered how his brother Knuckle was doing. He said something about borrowing Melee and hoping to run into someone…


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

He was put through hell.

One of the condition Master Bomb had for Rimuru, until he knew his truth strength, he wouldn't be introduced to the other masters until them. So, for the first while, Rimuru did nothing but train. He would do so at the temple and then at home discreetly. Since then, he has found his strength on his own, in a matter of days, Master Bomb had sparred with him and found his power was quite high and it would only continue to grow stronger. "You have done well, now I'll call my friends and see who is willing to teach you."

He would go back day after day, meeting Masters for a mere few hours, however watching and learning their technique. Many of them were basic forms of martial arts, easy to explain and practice at home. As well, he found his mind retaining everything at once. He could master the movements in mere hours much to the surprise of Master Bomb and his friends. However, soon, the Masters no longer showed interest. Those who he tried to call wouldn't answer him. Some flat out refused the moment they hear he is the son of Garou.

Old wounds still open apparently.

When the Masters no longer came, Rimuru focused on his strength. He endured hell once more. By orders of Master Bomb he was told to lift heavy rocks, carry them uphill and place them at the top. When he finished he was told to do it all over again and return the rocks to where he had them. He grumbled at the notion of doing it all. However when he was doing nothing but this for three days, he couldn't believe how much his strength developed. In the first day, he was luck to do two or three large rocks in a single afternoon. Day after, he was able to carry one on his shoulder with relative ease but still felt resistance. The third day, it was easy, and he carried two at a time on each shoulder! "How could this develop so fast?" he asked aloud.

He kept checking his arms and legs to be certain there were no veins what so ever being seen. When he realized this was his own strength, Rimuru couldn't help but be proud of himself!

Even Master Bomb mentioned about his growing strength was something worth praising. "Now that you finished with the stones, let's see how strong you have become…" He took a stance, Rimuru nodded as he took his. He used what martial arts he has learned thus far, but none of it was effective against Master Bomb. However, his strikes and movements were faster than before. He could have caught Master Bomb off guard if he put more effort into it, yet for the time being, Rimuru would be content with what he has.

"Excellent… Hmm, I think you are ready…"

"Ready?" he asked.

Master Bomb nodded. "It's time you learn Whirlwind iron cutting fist!"

Since the declaration, he sat front and center along side the other students, learning from the master.

However, despite the kindness he has been given from Master Bomb and his acquaintances in martial arts. Rimuru has learned from all but Bomb himself until recently. When he started to learn Whirlwind iron cutting first, it has been most challenging of all. Since he learned the basics of the form, he excelled beyond the other students and was switched to having one on one session. Despite his private lessons, the method was sound, however the master was a pure perfectionist. The moves done must be worthy of him, himself if Rimuru were to move on.

"Master, I thank you for these lessons, but I find your eyes are continuously pointing out my flaws in form and execution… why is that?" he asked.

He had heard rumors before that Master Bomb was an 80+ year old man. But if that was indeed the case, how come he doesn't look like a senior citizen! He nearly didn't believe his own eyes until he heard Master Bomb speak. As youthful as he appeared, Master Bomb spoke like a sage. "It is because your form is flawed that the execution of your move is not as powerful." He explained. "Besides, young one. Whirlwind iron cutting fist is an advance form, you must respect that in order to achieve it's true power and potential!"

"Yes Master Bomb!" he said with great respect.

Even so, such perfect couldn't be obtained, he is on week two in this dojo and has yet to master the move to the teacher's satisfaction. He trained away from the other students just to be certain. Outside there were logs where Rimuru would perform the move. Time and time again he assumed he got it down perfectly, until he began to look at the logs he was cutting up. The goal is to cut the wood in perfect circled disks, yet his were on an angle, the cut not early as smooth as it should be. "What am I doing wrong?" he muttered.

His wrist movement should be perfect, he made certain of that. His stance solid and yet, it wasn't anywhere near master Bomb's execution.

Rimuru sat in frustration of it all. Everything he has learned up to this point was easy, yet this, this was defeating him in more ways than one! He fell back to the ground, yet struck the earth out of anger. "What is wrong with me!" he demanded of himself.

"You are being too critical."

He suddenly sat up and saw Master Bomb standing before him. He looked over the logs and nodded. "The fact is this, you see now how imperfect the strike is, take into consideration your angle. If you are off angle like this, could this attack not have struck another person near by? This is why I ensure you perfect the move, it has to be done right or you risk harming another."

The news stunned him, that was the reason why he has been ensuring and insisting on perfection! "I didn't know… Master I am sorry for my arrogance!" Rimuru said as he bowed before him. "Please, point out my flaws again, help me rid myself of these so I may do this justice!"

He heard a laugh come from the master. "Even in the face of adversity, the frustration of defeat, you are still humble to learn. Never lose that!" Master Bomb insisted. "On your feet,"

#

He spent hours on it.

Rimuru found his wrist was the problem, it kept turning inward at the wrong time, therefore throwing the strike off track. It was strange he never noticed it before but he kept trying to correct it. That and his feet were pointing the wrong way. 'Damn feet, sometimes they are far more trouble then they are worth!' he thought to himself.

It took four hours until finally.

"Whirlwind Iron Cutting Fist!" he shouted.

Perfection.

The log sliced cleanly into perfect circles.

Master Bomb nodded his approval. "So, you appear to have the genius combatant skill…" he said offhandedly.

"But it took me a week to perfect it!"

"It took you an hour to do it, normally such a move takes my students years to build up towards a strike that strong and powerful." Master Bomb explained. He then looked to him curiously. "Who is your father again?" he asked.

Rimuru smirked and proudly said. "Garou,"

Master Bomb paused for a moment as he peered over the youth, Rimuru felt those eyes pierce him, believing what he just said was a lie. "But… if you are asking who my blood father is… it's Amai Mask…" he said with great reluctance.

His eyes widened. "There's has been no word of Amai Mask fathering children!"

"That's because he didn't!" snapped Rimuru. "We were nothing more than throw aways since we weren't born how he wanted us to be…" Somehow, Rimuru found himself telling Master Bomb everything, how he wasn't even born human, but a serpent. Amai wanted them dead since they were monsters and not human, Garou stepped in, his family saved them from being slaughtered. Their mother was a clone of Melee Brawler to top it all off, but in the end, he explains that Garou is his father without any doubt or wavering in his voice.

Master Bomb was silent to the whole thing. Rimuru felt the weight of the world was just lifted off his shoulders. "I want to become as good as my father at martial arts, it makes him so happy when he knows he has a son who can do just want he can do as well. I have a long way to go, but I am learning… I haven't even told him yet that I am doing this."

"Very well then…" he said with a sigh. "Next lesson, this is perfect by my own brother Bang. It's called Fists of flowing water, crushing rock. Watch closely young one…"

Rimuru's eyes widened as he watched the master's hands moved about like flowing water, this wasn't an attack move, but more of a self defense with attack capabilities. "Whoa…" he whispered. It was a soft flowing move, yet the power behind it can be felt from where he stood. "You can teach me this?"

"I can teach you the basics, the rest you must ask my brother about. He perfect it. But if you cannot get a hold of him, your next bet is your father, Garou. He was his top student."

"Dad didn't tell me that…"

"I am certain your father hasn't told you a lot of things about himself yet. For now, practice this and then, move on. You have perfected my teachings, it is time to broaden your mind with new lessons."

"YES SENSI!" Rimuru said with great determination. He spent the rest of the way home practicing and attempting fists of flowing water. He had to get the method down to perfection, yet at the same time be elegant about it. "Perhaps I should consult with Master Bang if he is obliging to speak with me…" he thought.

Rimuru didn't really hide his face in public, despite appearing like Amai, he found that with his short, spiked hair. The sides of his head have been buzzed cut. He appeared remarkably different. He bore a delinquent look that many people avoided when possible.

He kept up with such an appearance wearing tattered black jeans, and even some metal band t-shirts he got from Jason a while back. The baggy look hid his physic. Sunglasses covered his eyes as he walked carelessly down the street. Yet this appearance still drew out some attention. Those who considered him to be a 'tough guy' took it as a challenge.

Rimuru was someone worthy to fight.

"Hey, look at what we got here! Someone who thinks he's king shit!" he paused as they began to emurge from the shadows like cockroaches. Four in total as they began to surround him. "Mr. big tough man, looking to prove himself huh? This is OUR turf you know that punk!" demanded the largest of the four.

"I'm just walking home." Warned Rimuru. "You want to fight look elsewhere, I ain't in the mood to beat you all down."

The largest man blocked him off. "What if we want to see what you're made of hm?" he demanded. "Yeah little pretty boy here will make a good punching bag!"

"Chose your next words carefully, you may not be able to speak for a while if I break your jaw," Rimuru warned. He took off his sunglasses and tucked them into his shirt, he kept his eyes closed, yet the moment he opened them. He gave off a glare, it made the four stammer back and away from him. "Now… are you still looking to fight?"

Three shook their head no, yet the leader wasn't going to back down. He tried to jump him. All Rimuru did was moved even faster, turn his back to him and yet lifted his elbow up high enough.

SNAP

The bone broke on the man's jaw. The guy dropped to the ground, clenched his mouth. His muffled scream followed as he rolled about on the ground in pain. "I tried to warn you. Hospital is two blocks, east… feel better soon…" with that, he walked over the man and continued on.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

He snapped up and out of bed.

Tempest was wide-awake now, but still, he doesn't quite remember passing out. Settling his nerves he stretched himself out and felt oddly refresh, now that the nap was over, he needed something to eat. However, he wasn't about to go out to the cafeteria wearing only his mawashi. To his left, he saw a rather nice robe, in fact he has seen one of these… Oni wore them back at the stables. A yukata, it's a sumo's kimono. "Where…" he thought.

Until he noticed the note.

'Next thing I made for you, Athena.'

He smiled, Athena is really getting into the clothing design of things. He proudly wore it, it was soft and yet very light and durable by the looks of it. Admiration of the cloth would have to wait, his stomach was roaring and demanded a feast!

Tempest made his way to the cafeteria and took a seat, the drone instantly approach and scanned him. "Tempest Brawler, update…." It paused, it's never updated before. "Due to training regiment, new diet is being suggested. Implement?" it asked.

He was taken aback by it as the drone printed off a menu. Apparently someone had gone through the trouble of making him a new diet plan. Yet the food on it appeared to be delicious. "Please, and if I may have that as soon as possible as well."

The drone complied and rushed off. He looked over the menu once more, the one thing he noticed missing was the chanko-nabe. He made that at the stables all the time when he was there, a hearty stew that is to feed everyone. He wonders why it wasn't on the list.

Then again he wondered despite making so much food, how come there was so little left over for him when he was at the stables.

He snapped out of it when he saw his meal arrived, all hearty meals to say the least, but little beef by the looks of it. He wasted little time in eating; there was flavor and taste to it all. The stew he made was good but nothing compared to the food he has now! As Tempest ate, he found people stopping and staring at him oddly. He paused for a moment as they went on with their meals. Yet something made Tempest pause again as he felt piercing eyes came over his shoulders.

"What on earth are you wearing?"

He cringed to the voice as he turned and glared at Amai Mask. He appeared disgusted by the robe and approach with a rather repugnant look on his face, yet before he could even approach. Tempest stood up and glared down Amai himself. "WHY WOULD YOU EVEN CARE!" he demanded. The whole room came to a pause as Tempest stood his ground. "Why would you give a single damn to what I wear, what I do or how I act? This is MY LIFE, you are not part of it!"

The whole room froze, Amai himself didn't even flinch or even appear surprised. "You are only alive because I permit it."

Tempest smirk. "Really…" he dared to lean in. "Prove it."

His challenging tone wasn't taken lightly. Amai slowly took off his sunglasses and then removed his suit jacket. Tempest could feel it, he was going to make a move.

Amai suddenly vanished. Despite his speed, Tempest was aware of it and used his training to listen and track his movements. 'Left' he thought, moving in the nick of time, Tempest dodged the strike that now made a dent in the floor, yet, in that dodge, Amai came from the side, hard and fast. His arms went up in the nick of time to block a kick that would have shattered ribs of a monster. Strange thing was, Tempest noticed his arms were not getting veins like Amai's. He wasn't using the strength of the man before him… but his own!

Sweet Mask began to go fast, the heroes of the room were brought to the wall as the two began to fight. Tempest wasn't even trying to strike back against Amai Mask, he merely blocked his assaults with ease and remained on his feet. In fact, he took it as a training session. Making an invisible sumo ring in his mind and keeping within the boundaries without hitting the ground.

Clash!

Clash!

CLASH

The strikes were coming harder and faster now, he saw the look of frustration on Amai Mask as he continued to try and beat him down, make him cringe or do anything of the sort. Then, he suddenly pulled away. Amai was breathless, Tempest was too as he merely blocked the strikes. His arms covered in scuff marks and bruises but he didn't bleed. "What… on earth have you become?" Amai demanded between breaths of air.

Tempest smirk. "I'm going to be a Rikishi!" he snapped back. He even went one farther, taking a stance as he has seen in the sumo rings. "I am training to become a Yokozuna! I am going to become a sumo wrestler!"

Instant confusion came over the face of Amai Mask. "You're going to become a WHAT!"

"Yokozuna… top of the sumo wrestling world, a champion of sorts…" Tempest turned as his father came into the room. "By the looks of it, he's ready, we just have to tone down his strength so he doesn't kill anyone." He paused as he turned to him with a smile. "Told you, you had to find your own power… looks like ya did!"

Amai shook his head to it all. "He is NOT to become a sumo wrestler! I will not be embarrassed by a spectacle such as him!"

"Why would you be so embarrassed?" questioned Stinger. "Is he your kid or something?"

Amai froze, he turned to the heroes in the room as all of them began to stare at him with the same question in their minds. Tempest smirked, Amai won't admit to anything. "No," he growled. "I don't like knockoffs, that's all I will say about it…"

"Leave while you still have some dignity."

He did just that. Tempest stood once more yet looked to his robe, it had been tattered and torn in the fight. "Shit… Athena made this for me!"

"I am certain she will understand what happened. For now, finish your meal, we're going to call it a day until we have a way of gauge your strength properly." His father's hand came on his shoulder. "You did amazingly well!"

His chest swelled with pride, Tempest earned his father's praise!

As the room settled once more, the other heroes came by and told Tempest how amazing he was. "You kept calm throughout the whole ordeal and didn't even land a strike, but you took them head on, amazing!" said Forte.

He thanked them for the comments but went on to eat. Yet before he could, pain began to shoot through his arms. "Ow… Ow… that hurts…" he paused as it began to throb.

His father was concerned as he felt about both his arms. He cringed when he pressed down too hard. "I think it's fractured, both of them…"

"What… NO!" he protested.

"Calm down, it may be nothing, let's get you seen to."

#

He was taken right into the lab. Genus was at his table when he saw Tempest in rough shape. "What on earth happened?"

"Amai decided to give him a beating. He held his own, and not once did I see a vein emurge from his skin. Tempest has been building up his own strength!" Garou explained, but then sighed. "However, Amai's strikes were hard… I think he fractured Tempest's arms."

Genus instantly pulled away from his station. He took him to a small device Alley had made for heroes in case they were injured from a monster hunt. It took Genus mere moments to make and Xray. Yet as he looked at it, he gave a sigh and nodded. "When you are right, you're right Garou," he stated.

"What?! NO!" Tempest protested. "I can't have broken arms now! I just started my serious training!"

"Be calm child, this is nothing to be concerned about. If anything, you are more than likely to heal by tomorrow if given proper rest. So no more training today!" Genus insisted. "Look…" he did another x-ray and then placed them side by side. "Do you see this… before your fracture when to here… now it's already healing since the break isn't as long as before. Twenty four hours and you should be good as new." He explained.

Tempest sighed with relief, Garou on the other hand wanted to find Amai and beat the shit out of him for his latest actions. However, if Melee catches wind of it ahead of time… at least he hopes he will be able to watch her beat the shit out of Amai.

"Dad…"

Garou snapped out of the moment of thought. "Sorry, you were saying."

Tempest smirked. "Thanks for not interfering… at least I know now… I don't have to be scared of Amai anymore, I can hold my own against him"

"Wait a while longer and you can kick his ass." Garou said with a grin on his face. "That's even better, but for now, let's get you taped up. Come here, I got experience with this." He found the tape and began to wrap up Tempest's arms. He saw the impressed look on his face as he finished one arm rather quickly, and the other was done up fast as well. He couldn't quite bend his arms, but that's the point. "This is going to be uncomfortable for you for a little while, but it's just for the day." Garou insisted.

"Thanks dad…"

"You better go back to the cafeteria and get a good meal in you. Take your time since we are done for the day… I think I got to find Suiryu and make sure he's okay with what he just learned…"

"He found out? Who won the bet?"

Garou sneered. "Snek, somehow he pegged it and even got the extra winnings declaring I was going to be the one to tell him. I laughed in his face when he made that bet… but he's laughing now… damn snake." He muttered.

Tempest snickered. "I think I will go and get something to eat now, thank you father… thank you Genus for taking care of me." He said with a gracious bow.

When Tempest left, Genus appeared amazed. "106 is defiantly going to want him."

"No shit," muttered Garou. "Question is, why hasn't he made a move yet?"

"You weren't told?"

Garou turned to Genus who explained that there was a task force out destroying the labs. "I have given the details to Bun-Bun Bomb on various locations of my old labs and some where I think could be. She's been going in and raiding the labs, now, apparently your brothers in law have joined her."

He was taken aback by the news. "Street and Knuckle are raiding these things for us?" he asked.

"Indeed, from what I understand, it has forced 106 to go offline in a sense. I have little doubt he is forcing his plan forward, however is being very cautious with it. Just keep an eye on Tempest and Titan, for both have the perfect blend of genetics between mother and father."

"I'll keep that in mind,"


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Snek still couldn't believe his eyes.

Pythan, Bo, Angie and Conna were all showing off their human forms. Not to mention the clothing they got from their first trip to the mall just a few weeks ago. Pythan was nearly the spitting image of Drax just with blond hair. Bo was bulkier than his brother, Angie was much like her mother. Conna was a good mixture of the two, but was a little bigger than her sister. Perhaps it's because Bo and Conna are the constrictors. Snek slithered closer to his children as they smiled towards him. They have hidden their human form from him until now, he didn't know why they held back on showing them off. But seeing them, standing on two feet, he couldn't help but feel proud.

They appeared like fourteen year olds, yet smiled to him. "Look papa… we're human too!" Pythan said with great amazement. "I can't explain how this feels right now, but… it's weird and amazing all at once."

"You get use to it." Yuuma said as he reentered the house with Luna, Eclipsa, Akira, Drax and Yuki, they were done with the Association and practice for the day. "The most important part is to learn to not hit your toes on ANYTHING!" Yuuma said with a cringe to his voice.

However, there was something Snek had to know. "Why didn't you tell me you wanted to try this before?" he asked. "I would have switched some how with Amai and taught you the ropes."

They shook their heads to it. "Papa, sometimes we want to try things on our own too. I know being like this at the same time as you would be amazing, but, we want to prefect this, so when you do change, time isn't wasted on training us how to walk. We can go out and do it!" Pythan said defiantly.

He was stunned to the logic, but it made perfect sense in his mind.

The kids could walk fine, however they all got tingling in their legs after sitting on them funny. They endured what happens when their leg falls asleep! It was still a startling sensation for the four, but once it passed, they began to think towards the future. "So… what do you do as humans?" asked Bo. "Can we fight monsters?"

"NO!" Snek said defiantly. "I am a lot weaker in my human state than I am like this, I fear you will be too…"

"Actually…" Yuki said with a grin. "I managed to change that. They have the same strength as they would if they were serpent, mainly in their arms. They can take a stronger hit, but not as strong in this form due to the lack of scales. I know those things are like intense body armor to say the least. But they will be able to hold their own, I promise you."

Pythan suddenly began to move about, he started practicing Biting Snake Fist combat in the living room! "Whoa, wait, where did you learn that?!" Snek demanded.

He didn't hesitate to answer. "You and Drax! Mr. Knuckle showed us video of you fighting. We've been watching Drax train outside by himself and have been mimicking what he can do, mainly with our arms, but now… we can do the whole thing!"

Even Drax was impressed. "Hey, little bro, if we are going to be doing this, we go outside, not in the house, got it?"

His eyes widened. "You will show me?"

"I'll show you," he laughed. "You coming dad?"

He smirked, as much as he wanted to watch, he felt himself getting tried from his latest hunt. "You go head, I got to sleep off my dinner. I promise though, I will watch you train," he vowed.

Pythan was the first to rush out of the house, Bo followed suit along with Drax. Angie and Conna however remained uncertain to this new sensation. Snek slinked off to his room, but before he could rest, a gentle knock came on the door. "Papa…"

He smirked, he's gotten use to being called Papa, but the tone they used usually only happens when they are concerned about something or uncertain of a situation. The girls peered into the room. "May we come in?" asked Conna.

"Sure girls, come have a seat."

They slipped into the room, but they stood rather oddly. Worried looks came over their faces as Conna began to rub her arm nervously. "Papa… what if Pythan and Bo don't want to change back?" asked Conna.

Curiosity got the better of him now. "What do you mean?"

"Pythan appears to like being human, he just turned and liked it. We don't. It's too weird for us and I don't like the fact that I have soft skin that can't protect me from attacks… I don't like feeling vulnerable!" Angie said. "But if Bo and Pythan like being human, they may never turn back again... If they don't turn back, we lose our brothers!"

"Oh sweetheart…" the two began to weep as they rushed towards him.

Snek picked himself off the ground as he held his daughters tightly. "Papa, we don't want to be separated!" cried Conna. "We don't want to lose our brothers!"

It was adorable and heartbreaking all at the same time. He held them a little tighter and tried to comfort them. "Listen, there will come a time where you will venture off on your own, without me, without your brothers and even without each other… BUT, you will never stop being siblings." He explained.

"Venture off? No we will never venture off, not after what happened the last time!" protested Angie.

'_Oh right, they remembered when they tried to run away from home and me…_' Snek thought.

"My point is this, you two are individuals, you have your own lives to live, soon, you will grow up bigger and stronger, and then have families of your own," he explained. "It's the way of life,"

"What if we don't want families of our own? What if we want the family we have right now?" asked Conna.

They may look old, but they have a long ways yet until they are full mature! It wasn't a bad thing in Snek's mind. But he had to set theirs at ease. "Well only time will tell on that, now listen… you got an opportunity here. You have family that can help you adjust to being human, and when you are done, you can change back into a serpent at any time. For now, explore this world with new eyes and a new adventure! You may find something you like to do that you couldn't before. Promise me, you'll try?" he asked.

They cleared away their tears but nodded. "Good, do you feel better?"

"A little…" whispered Angie.

"You know, there might be leftovers in the fridge, do you remember that nice smelling dish from last night… you can eat it now and it will be filling!"

They paused to the news. "That's right, we can eat food!" said Conna.

"Indeed, and it will be just as filling for you as if you ate a monster as a snake, but this… this has flavor!"

There was suddenly a look of excitement in their eyes as the girls pulled away and left the room. With that, Snek yawned aloud and decided to get some sleep while he could.

#

Athena returned home a short time later. However, she couldn't help but pause to the commotion coming from the side of the house. Curious, she peered around and saw Drax training Bo and Pythan in their human forms. Pythan was able to strike faster than Bo, Bo however possessed greater strength and endurance. The three came to a stop, Drax was out of breath as his siblings were still ready and raring to go! "I give for now… please, time out…" Drax said between breaths.

The two smiled. "This is fun!" said Bo. "I didn't think I could hold my own like this… legs are weird but fascinating!"

She peering out the kitchen window Angie and Conna as they watched their brothers spar.

However, Athena noticed Angie and Conna were not happy about their human forms. They were reluctant still, she was much like that herself. But then, an idea came to mind. She went into the house, approached the sisters and whispered. "What to try on some outfits I made?" she asked.

Curious looks came over them. "Outfits? You mean clothing?" Conna asked with excitement to her voice.

"The very same! Come on, I got stuff for you to try on!"

The girls appeared interested. Athena led them to her room and revealed a massive closest Alley designed for her. Within was a small walk in closet with materials and a sewing machine. "I've been making clothing since I started to learn about it. Right now you are wearing nano bots, handy to have it you are going to change back and forth often. But, if you know for certain you are going to be human, you can wear these! Pick something out and try it on" she insisted.

"It's just like the store we went to a while back… but we can try these on?" asked Angie.

"Indeed, see what you like and what fits!"

The girls tried on clothing for a good hour. Neither one had something unique to call their own like this before. Athena would make suggestions as to what outfit is good with which sister. Sometimes they agreed with her, other times they flat out refused. Angie loved the color green for some reason. Conna was in love with blues, the darker the better in her mind. When they each found an outfit to wear, they appeared a lot happier than before. "These are amazing, where did you find them?" asked Conna.

Athena smiled. "I made them." She announced.

The two froze. "You can MAKE clothing!?"

"Yep, and I can show you how too! You want to learn and make your own?"

"Can we do it as serpents?" asked Angie. She appeared nervous still to the idea of being in a human form for too long.

"You can try, I tried to myself and it's a lot more difficult since there's a peddle on the sewing machine you need to use, a foot is a lot easier than the tip of your tail, personal experience here. But if you practice enough, you maybe able to, but I prefer this way, I can make a lot more clothing faster than when I was a serpent."

Curiosity got the better of the sisters, they would watch and learn from Athena as she taught them the basics. When they understood and practiced themselves, they found sewing more difficult than they realized.

"HEY, WE'RE HOME!"

"Ooo dad's back!" Athena said with glee, she rushed out but froze at the sight. Tempest was home too, but… he was hurt and his robe was tattered and torn. "Tempest… my robe… I made that for you!"

He hung his head shamefully. "I am so sorry…" he said. "I got attacked by Amai Mask, and…"

"Wait… you got attacked?! You're not seriously hurt are you?"

He paused to the tone of concern in her voice. "No, just my arms got fractured, but dad thinks I will heal over by tomorrow… But I am so sorry about your robe, I didn't mean…"

"Forget the robe! You're arms got fractured!" she rushed to him, checking his wrappings and nodded her approval that they were keeping his wounds to a minimum. "You should have told us he went after you, we would have fight next to you!" she protested.

Tempest smiled to her concern, but he assured her that he would be okay.

Her father however paused. "Huh. I don't think I have seen Snek's kids in their human forms yet… Angie and Conna, you look great," he said.

The two blushed and shied away.

"Yuki worked it out on the same device that renders us human. But he also found a way to bypass the code so they can use their strength as serpents in human form. Granted they won't take a hit as well, but their power is there to strike back!" Athena explained to her father.

"These kids keep getting smarter and smarter…" he muttered.

#

"Ooo dad's back!" the triplets announced.

Drax smiled as he waved the three off to go and greet Garou, he on the other hand had to catch his breath. Despite how good he is, his little brothers are stronger. Then again, they got their monster strength still. Drax has a little bit of it. After catching his breath, he turned to them, smiling a proud grin. "Damn, you two are good! Tomorrow I'll train you on dad's biting snake fist form of combat if you are interest?"

Pythan's eyes widened. "We can fight like dad!?"

"Oh yeah, big time, you two will be naturals at it to say the least." He explained everything as he brought his brothers back inside, yet when he entered the house once more, he found Amai's kids clamoring over Tempest, Luna and Eclipsa however were in full nurse mode as they examined his arms, they were bandaged up as they made slings for them with towels. "Whoa… what happened?!" he asked aloud.

"Amai Mask." Garou said with a hint of venom in his voice. "I heard him say that Tempest and the others were only alive because he allowed them to be. Tempest demanded he prove it, next thing I knew a fight broke out. However, Amai couldn't land a hit. Tempest blocked them all, yet his arms got fractured."

Drax soaked it all in. "They only got fractured? His arms should be shattered!"

"Yeah, I know."

There was an odd pause in Drax. "Uh… does Melee know about this? Where is she anyways?"

"Out with her brothers, I think… then again Street was at the Association… huh… I don't know where she went… Oh… if she was at the Association…" he paused but then, an evil grin came over his lips. "Amai may be going to the hospital…"

"Dad, please make sure mom doesn't do anything drastic! If anything this was perfect training for me. I know my strength!" Tempest protested. "Besides, as Genus said. He won't mess with me from here on. He knows my power and I am only going to get stronger!"

"You're that much more powerful?" asked Yuuma. "Can you train me too?"

He nodded in acceptance but explained it won't be easy to say the least. "Together, we will grow stronger!" he announced.

Garou appeared to be thinking to himself. But then realized there was one missing. "Wait, where the hell is Rimuru!?" he demanded.

No sooner did he ask, did Rimuru walk through the door. He froze as everyone stared at him oddly. "What?" he asked.

"You keep disappearing like a freaking magician!" Garou announced. "Where on earth are you going? You never say, and I have no idea!"

He blushed to the question but said. "It's a secret right now… I don't want to reveal it just yet."

Garou's arms crossed. "Oh really? Is it a big secret?" he asked, his voice going a little stern. Garou doesn't like it when the kids keep something hidden from him, especially if they could be involved in something dangerous.

"It's nothing serious dad, really. It's just… I want to make it a surprise," Rimuru said reluctantly.

There came a look of uncertainty on Garou, however he nodded. "Okay then, just as long you aren't doing anything too brash…" he warned. "Well it's getting late, might as well figure out dinner…" he muttered.

"Ooo, dad, can we do pizza?!" asked Tempest. "Snek's kids haven't had pizza before and it's our favorite in human form please!"

He smirked. Drax knew the look on his face too, after all, Garou doesn't like to cook unless he has enough time to make something. "You know, pizza sounds like an idea! Let me call the Association kitchen and see if the drones and whip some up for us."

"One of the best perks of being in this family. Take out is no problem and Alley's drones know how to cook!"

"Damn straight!" Garou announced.

He made the call outside, at the same time, Drax decided to call Melee and ask where she was. "Hey Drax, is everything okay?" she asked.

"We're okay… where are you by chance?" he questioned.

"Oh, helping Knuckle with something impossible" she said with a sigh. "Does Garou have dinner ready for you and the others?"

"We're getting pizza."

"Of course you are…" she sighed. "Look, I am going to be late, so keep an eye out for everyone for me please okay?"

"Sure thing… what are you helping Knuckle with anyways?"

There came silence on the other side, until he heard Knuckle speak. "Sis, there she is!" he said with excitement.

"Huh?"

"He wants to ask Tatsumaki out…"


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Melee didn't know what the hell her brother was thinking, let alone why. Of all the women he could have gone after… why her? Why Tatsumaki!

"There's just something about her sis, it's rather captivating to say the least. I mean… consider how strong she is, she doesn't need a big strong man to look after her…"

"Then why the hell are you trying to run into her?" she demanded. Melee only caught wind of the plan when she was at the Association, she saw her brothers admiring from afar to some of the heroes. Street was eyeing Captain Mizuki, the highly athletic woman. Knuckle of course had to go for the one who wouldn't dare give him the time of day.

"Look, do what you want, go ahead and ask them out. I mean why the hell do you even need me here for?" she demanded.

"You know Tatsumaki right?" asked Knuckle.

"We're not exactly friends…"

Street on the other hand was more confident in his ability. "I got this sis, you help Knuckle… he needs all the help he can get if he wants to ask someone like HER out."

Knuckle didn't appear the least bit intimidated to the notion. "Who knows, maybe she will agree to a pity date, that pity then grows into more pity, then likability… and then… perhaps… girlfriend!" he said with a glimmer in his eyes.

"Oh God…" Melee muttered. "If she becomes my sister in law we are going to fight like hell…"

Knuckle however stretched himself out and prepared. "Come on sis, I can't do this without you. Bro, good luck!" with that Knuckle grabbed hold of her arm gently and pulled her along, he already picked up where Tatsumaki was and was about to make his move.

#

Since then, Melee has been on a rooftop in City O waiting with her brother for her to fly by. "Seriously, you want to try and date HER!" she demanded. "You know she calls me a freak along with Garou, she HATES Garou."

"Uh huh…." He said and stared off.

"You don't even listen to what I am saying!"

"Uh huh…"

"You really are a meathead at times you do know that?"

"Uh huh…"

She stopped then and there, he was not going to be saying another word to her for a while, not until he sees Tatsumaki for himself. Melee would get a phone call from Drax asking where she was. She couldn't help but feel he wanted to say something else, but held back on the notion. At least the kids are going to be fed Pizza tonight. Yet the moment she hung up her phone she got a call from Drax once more.

"Hey, everything okay?"

Drax suddenly hesitated. "Uh… did Garou call you by chance, about what happened at the Association today?"

Melee felt her heart freeze, something happened? "Was it serious?" she demanded. "Is anyone hurt?"

Again there was silence from him. "Drax…"

"Tempest left the sumo stables today. He found that they were purposely depriving him of meals and no one was really training well with him, he opted to leave. Dad has since taken over and begun training him here. Amai Mask was here… he confronted Tempest…"

Instantly, Melee shot to her feet. "If he laid a hand on him…"

"He did… but Tempest stood against him… if anything he saw this as training, he refused to hit the ground, in fact, he blocked all of Amai's moves despite their intensity. His arms are fractured but they are going to heal up by tomorrow…"

"Where… is… Amai… Mask?" she demanded slowly.

"Melee… please let this go, Tempest doesn't want you to take action against him. But it also looks like Amai isn't going to mess with him anyways. He's gotten stronger by the sounds of it. Tempest is only going to continue to grow stronger. According to Garou, he didn't see a single vein on him."

Melee paused.

As furious as she was with Amai, she couldn't help but feel proud of Tempest who was finding his own strength.

Still, that son of a bitch fractured her son's arms!

"Melee are you still there?"

"Sorry, seething…" Melee replied. She called herself down and took a deep cleansing breath. "Tempest is okay, right?"

"He's going to be just fine, Genus assured him and Garou has taped up his arms to be safe than sorry… and Luna has gone into full out nurse mode for Tempest." Melee paused as she saw a rather large drone fly by.

"Let me guess, Garou ordered out for dinner?"

Drax snickered. "Apparently not everyone has had pizza before." He laughed. No doubt that was dinner heading home now. "I just wanted to tell you this so you don't get left in the dark about what's happened. Tempest is fine and Amai will know better not to mess with him."

"Thank you Drax I appreciate that." With the conversation over, Melee looked out as Knuckle grinned. He called out Tatsumaki's appearance earlier, but his eyes may have been looking too far ahead. Only now did Melee see her coming towards them.

"Here I go!" Knuckle took off, he had to time it just right to make it appear he ran into her by accident of course. Melee merely sat back and waited for the inevitable to occur.

3

2

1

"WATCH IT LOSER!"

She peered up as Tatsumaki let him have it. Knuckle however apologized profusely to his 'clumsy' actions. "Please, let me make this up to you… dinner?" he asked.

"Whatever… what the hell are you anyways? Are you that advance cyborg I heard so much about?"

"Oh? You heard about me?" he asked with a coy grin.

She blew him off. "Weirdo, leave me alone, I don't waste my time with junk!" She took off shortly after. Knuckle sighed as he slowly descended back down again.

"She's a hard one to crack isn't she?"

"No, not really, Tatsumaki has been through a lot. You need to understand she doesn't like to depend on others. She feels if she is capable of fighting for herself, she doesn't need anyone else… well… except for her sister. She love Fubuki a lot, but is very over protective of her." Melee explained.

"Fubuki huh?" he said in an odd tone.

"You aren't seriously…"

"Not now sis, I do believe I got a way in!"

"Oh God, if you are turned to scrap do not blame me!" Melee muttered. "I'm going home and getting some pizza. Do whatever the hell you are going to do." With that, Melee took off for home.

Hoping there will be pizza when she gets there!


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

It was early the next day when Tempest and Garou went to speak with Oni. He didn't mind the least bit sitting down with him, however, he appeared uncertain to the sight of Garou.

They spoke in private in his office, he sat them down and offered green tea as he spoke. "I wish you would reconsider joining the stable, Tempest. It's not likely a good move for you that you are not with a strong teacher or have been training among other Rikishi like yourself."

Garou sneered. "Tch, he doesn't need to be trained among those who won't treat him like an equal. I get it, you got to earn your place here among the others, but going to the extent of starving him. I draw the line!"

Onimaru paused to the news. "Starving him?" he asked. "Did you not eat well enough here?"

Tempest shook his head. "No, there was hardly anything left for me when it came to be my turn. I was the one who cooked the meal too, I always make sure there is plenty to go around and leftovers when I cook at home… here, they didn't want to see me eat as well as they do. Also, they never trained me seriously. I was hazed, I admit that, but I wanted to learn more than anything. They wouldn't allow it."

There came a look of concern over Onimaru, he began to think things over before nodding his head. He paused however as he noticed Tempest's arms bandaged up. "What happened?" he asked.

He smiled politely. "A test of strength… and it went a little too far." He said.

"He got into a fight with Amai Mask and held his ground." Garou said rather carelessly. "Look, I am not going to beat around the bush here. I will train him, that's no issue. The problem is, I cannot train him on the tradition of sumo. You know me, and know how I work. I could give a shit about it all, however… I will not hinder my son in his dream. Which means he has to have an understanding of what is expected of him as a sumo wrestler, and when he becomes Yokozuna."

Oni was stunned to how blunt Garou was, however he didn't try to lie or hide anything from him on the matter. He gave but a nod in understanding. His arms crossed as he pondered over the notion. "In Sumo, one normally has to be part of a stable. However, rules do not dictate it is mandatory, it's just traditional as to how sumos are raised for they learn from their elders on the matter. I will take Tempest to get registered and will explain it all to the board. Traditions, you are correct about, Garou. He must learn them for they are part of the culture and ways of the sport. But I will say this. That fight you had with Amai Mask… had you been registered at the time, your career would have ended that moment!"

Tempest froze in fear. Garou sneered at the thought of it. "That serious?" he muttered.

"Indeed. As a sumo, one must conduct themselves in a proper manner. We are considered a branch of samurai warrior, and one needs to carry themselves properly. No fighting outside of the ring, you speak gently even if others speak brashly about you. You must maintain composure at all times and be calm."

Tempest gulped his pride a little. "I am still a little nervous around people…" he said offhandedly.

"You need to get over that. Tempest, understand me when I say this." Onimaru leaned in over his desk, looked him in the eyes and stated. "You need to be more than who you are now to carry yourself as a Yokozuna."

He timidly nodded to the news.

Garou was already going over new ideas to break Tempest of his shyness, one already worked so far. "If I continue to train him, will you teach him the tradition and customs he needs to know?" Garou questioned.

Onimaru smiled proudly. "When I am through with him, he will know everything that is expected of him! I promise you. Your son is a very quick learner and I have little doubt in my mind that he will adjust and adapt to what is required of him to become a true Rikishi." He paused and stared at the robe Tempest wore. "Your garment is very close to what you should be wearing. However it is too thick, you need to be presented with proper garment, it is thin and you cannot wear anything else with it until you have earn your rank!" Onimaru warned.

Tempest nodded his head in understanding. "My sister made this for me." He explained with a blush.

"She is very talented,"

Garou was getting rather antsy to say the least. "So in a few days, you will take him to register?" he asked.

"Yes, and if he is well enough, there are tournaments coming up. He is free to enter but before that, there is one that I strongly feel he needs to in." Oni explained that there was a testing tournament for newcomers into the sumo world. However this tournament helps the federation gauge its wrestlers. For some can come in with remarkable talent and boost their rankings. Some who claim to have fantastic talent to gain a high rank only to be unable to prove it must start at the bottom. "But, I think there will be an exception made for you, Tempest. You have a natural ability, and I can't see you starting low in the ranks. You have too much talent and ability, I am certain you will be getting an instant boost in your rank the moment they see what I have seen in you."

A grin came over his face. Garou smiled wickedly, as he said aloud. "Sounds like a good deal…" he paused for a moment. "Rank depends on victories and how they are won, correct?" he asked.

This made the veteran sumo wrestler pause. "Yes…" he said rather nervously.

The smile only grew on Garou. "Just making sure." He turned to Tempest and gave a nod. "Let's get you home to rest up for tomorrow. Your arms should be healed by tonight."

With that, they walked out of the office. Tempest paused as he watched the others train but sighed aloud to it. The older guys there smirked and snickered towards him, yet when Garou caught their gaze, they froze in fear of him. On the way out, he turned to Tempest and said. "I will make you so strong, that they will fear your gaze as much as mine!"

#

First thing's first.

Garou took Tempest to see Genus to check on his arms. He did a quick x-ray once more of them and nodded his head. "The bandages can come off, he's all healed up." Genus announced.

"Oh… so soon?" he asked, Tempest appeared worried. "Isn't that…"

"Yeah, but you just got hurt for the first time. It's going to take a while before you heal automatically. Don't be ashamed of this, if anything I got this too. So you can say you got my healing abilities." Garou said with a wink of his eye.

Tempest smiled and nodded, as Genus took the bandages off, Tempest sheepishly asked. "Dr. Genus, is there anyone at the association that could help be gauge my strength? I want to be sure I use enough of my power to win, but not hurt anyone." He asked.

He bit his lip a little. There appears to be one person in mind, but didn't know if he should mention his name. "Uh… you may want to ask 66…"

"66?" Tempest asked.

"Why didn't I think of that… but he's no sumo wrestler…"

"Whose 66?" Tempest asked again.

"Zombieman." Said Garou

"He's not and he prefers spying and investigating than physical work," Genus said. However in Garou's mind there was no one better. He's human, and he can heal fast if he is struck too hard, but it would also give a good indication as to how much force is needed for Tempest to participate in sumo matches.

"We need to ask a favor of him then…"

"Good luck with that," Genus muttered. "Do take into consideration 66… is a very serious man. He isn't one to play sumo here. Not to mention he's not the proper weight, one would have to make him a suit to be that of a sumo wrestler!" he protested.

Garou suddenly had grin on his face. "I already spoke to Alley about that, and she already made the suit for him… I got it, now, to just convince him…"

"Where's Zombieman anyway?" Tempest asked.

"Last I checked he was with Yuki, apparently he's taken an interest in the gadgets he has been making. So, construction lab, down the hall."

Garou nodded as he excused himself from the room.

He ventured down to the lab and there he was, just as Genus said. Yuki was going over a belt and was explaining the compartments. As he walked in, Zombieman placed on the belt and nodded to the fit. "Perfect kid, well done."

"Hey dad!"

Garou paused as he saw Hunter and Jag in the room as well. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, Yuki made Tank Top Tiger these metal rings, yet you push the center and they become claws. Covering your finger tips in long, sharp metal talons… Jag wants some too." He explained with a grin.

"I'm working on those next… why are you here dad?" Yuki asked.

"Came to talk to the Deadman about a favor."

There was already a look of reluctance on Zombieman. "Do I even want to know?" he demanded carelessly. "I don't unless it's anything about spying or intelligence gathering to say the least."

"Yeah, it's awkward, but Tempest needs help gauge his strength… he wants to be a sumo wrestler…"

Suddenly, Zombieman glared at him with a rather annoyed look. "You want me to sumo wrestle your son?" he demanded.

"Not really sumo wrestle with him… just help him indicate how much strength he needs to knock someone out of the ring. Alley made a suit for you…"

"Pass," he said instantly.

"My kid needs help!" Garou said as his voice began to growl. "You are the only one…"

"I said, Pass… HARD PASS"

"What do you want?" Garou demanded. "What would you want that I could give you that would allow Tempest to know his true strength?"

A snort of a laugh came out of the former S Class hero. "You got nothing I want, for there is nothing I need from you." He said and took a cigarette out of his jacket.

Suddenly a look of intrigue came over Jag. "What about something… good?" asked Jag.

Everyone turned and stared at him oddly. Jag excused himself from the room, only to return a short time later with a small snuffbox. A look of curiosity came over everyone as Jag opened the box to Zombieman. "These are the finest, hand rolled cigarettes made in my village, they are only made in limited amounts, numbers and given to gifts of those with great influence in other villages, peace offerings and wedding gifts."

There came a look of interest, Zombieman took one from the box and smelt it. He appeared curious. "Doesn't smell like a cigarette." He said.

Placing it into his mouth, he lit it up and took one drag.

He froze, his hand trembled as he found himself savoring the taste, aroma and even the expelled smoke itself! "What… the hell… is this?" he demanded.

"Artisan crafted, as I said rare in my village, used for only special occasions and ceremonies, as well, only people of power are privileged to these." He closed the snuffbox as Zombieman was tempted to take one more, cutting him off from doing so. Jag held them rather carelessly in his hand, teasing them before the S Class hero. "These… are yours… if you help Tempest."

Hunter was even taken aback by Jag's offer. "Dude, if they are that high end, you sure you want to use them for this?"

Jag laughed. "This was a bribe from my father to give to you. You don't smoke so they would have been useless either way. Father doesn't want them back, it's insulting if they do return to the village untouched." He explained.

In no time, Zombieman was done with this cigarette. However the taste of it must have been something new and interesting for him to be tempted by the offer. Garou thought cigarettes are all the same, but apparently these were not ordinary to say the least.

A sour look came over him, Zombieman struggled before his glare came upon Garou. "No cameras. None what so ever if I am to wear this contraption of a suit, not a word is to be spoke of it, not ONE WORD." He warned.

Garou nodded. "I will have Yuki disable all electronic devices in the facility of the training session. No one will record you in the suit, I will even have Tempest come here when you are ready to train with him. We will merely test you for various, average weights of sumos to know the extend needed to win a match."

He sneered at it all, but as the snuffbox was offered to him, he snatched it out of Jag's hands. "Not… one… word…" he muttered.

He left shortly after, but Garou was grinning from ear to ear.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

No one had ever done this to him before.

Yet, he found himself trapped, unable to move as his arm was pinned awkwardly to the side, his head held to the wall as fingers were digging into his scalp. "You… will keep your hands to yourself… you understand me? You thought I hit you hard before… I'll do it so you will lose more than your lunch!"

Amai Mask, held at the mercy of a very angry Melee Brawler! She just saw him coming down the hall, next thing he knew she vanished and he became trapped in this vice like grip! "You keep forgetting you are raising monsters!" he protested, only to feel her fingers dig deeper into the scalp.

She began drawing blood!

"I've had practice with that… remember?" she whispered in his ear.

She finally let him go, the message was sent as he quickly healed from her brazen attack. Amai dusted himself off but still. It bothered him. "You care too much for things that shouldn't be." He muttered. "You know those children were to be used by that blasted clone. They were his test subjects and I had no choice in the matter! I couldn't even control my own actions, and yet you judge me for wanting them destroyed!"

Melee didn't show any sign of sympathy. "Be that as it may, when they are born… they are born… you have no right to end their lives because you saw fit! You keep forgetting these children are part of me too! They are the very things you wanted had you won my heart instead of Garou. Granted, yes they are serpent, so what! It doesn't matter what they are, human or not, they are loving children who care for those around them!" she protested. "It's a damn shame you will never know such love."

He blew off the comment. "I don't need the love of unwanted creatures like those… For that matter, why are you allowing them to pursue these strange and very… unflattering ventures. A sumo wrestler, really?" he demanded.

"Tempest wants to become Yokozuna, Garou is going to help him get there. He's talented, he was even scouted by Onimaru, who trained Raiden of the Neo Heroes."

Amai paused, but shook off the development. "He is doing this to embarrass me."

"He's doing this because he wants to, you don't matter, remember?" she snapped back. "Just stay the hell away from my children, Amai. If they approach you then fine, engage them in conversation, but nothing more. I doubt they would even want to speak with the likes of you anyway…"

"You are making a terrible choice on this, Melee. Mark my words, these children will turn on you!"

She smirked off his threat. "Oh, I am certain they will," she said sarcastically. Amai stormed off as Melee took a deep breath to calm herself down. She had to, her arms were starting to surge… in fact, she swore she saw stands of electricity of some sort coming off her arms oddly. 'Boros's power…' she thought.

She continued down the opposite side of the hall. She ran into Zombieman who appeared to be in a bit of a rush to get out of the Association. Yet once he vanished, Melee found Garou, Hunter and Jag coming out of Alley's personal lab room. "Hey guys, what were you doing in there?" she asked.

"Nothing really, but making training arrangement." Hunter explained. "Hey mom… Jag hasn't been to the house yet… can he come for dinner?" he asked.

Melee was surprised to the question. "Of course he can, you are welcome any time to the house!"

"Call first" said Garou.

She rolled her eyes to that, Garou prefers to have time to prepare for company… well… more like get his endurance ready for unwanted company. He prefers it to be just the family in the house, no one else! "How does tonight sound? You a big eater?"

Jag smirked. "Miss Brawler, if you met my brothers and my father, you would be surprised that I could keep up with them!"

Melee was curious, however, she began to notice a smitten look on Hunter. He really liked him! She smiled and nodded to Jag. "Very well then, I better go get stuff ready for dinner then. Excuse me boys." She was quick to leave but wondered what to make…

#

"LOOK!"

In the lobby of the Association, Tank Top Tiger was proudly displaying his claws. They appeared like nothing more than mere rings on his fingers, but then, he set off a trigger, the metal wrapped and covered his digits until he proudly displayed his metal claws to the heroes near by. "What do you think? This Tiger has claws!"

"Nice! Who made those?" asked Stinger.

"Yuki!" he said proudly.

"Yuki?..." Stinger appeared to think over the name. "Oh, you mean that kid with the weird hair cut that looks like Street Brawler's?"

"That's the one, the kid is really smart, made these on the spot. He hasn't stop creating stuff. He's a lot like Alley just more driven to build and make things like this."

"That kid is something… isn't he…" Stinger suddenly fell silent as Amai walked by. Yet, before he could leave, Stinger called out. "Hey Sweet Mask, what's with these guys that look like you?!"

Amai froze for a moment, he became oddly still. He turned rather abruptly on his heels and glared at Stinger, his veins were in full force around his eyes. "What… did you say?" he demanded.

"Look man, no point in playing stupid, we know these kids are yours. Question is how did they get here?" Stinger asked. "Did something happen?"

The glare only intensified. "Ask Snek why don't you. Demand where his children came from. The ones you speak of… are no children of mine."

The tone alone gave everyone a chill, he walked off shortly after but still, the vibe they got, it was as if they stared death in the face. Stinger shrugged it off. "What the hell is his problem?"

Tank Top Tiger shrugged. "If those really are his kids, he's making the biggest mistake of his life. They're great! I mean, Yuki made these without plans or anything, just off the top of his head!"

"You saw the fight he had with Tempest from the day before?" asked Black Hole. "Shit I thought he would have shattered the kid's arm. But that guy is built! Wants to be a sumo wrestler I heard."

"Really? He's got the power for it no doubt…" said Stinger. But he then kept peering over to Tiger's claws. "I wonder what Yuki could make for me…" he thought aloud.

In fact, all the other heroes were thinking the same thing…


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Jag froze.

The moment Hunter brought him to the front door, he paused and turned to Jag rather nervously. "Uh… just a heads up, it can get a little crazy in my household to say the least. If you feel overwhelmed, let me know and I'll politely excuse us."

Jag laughed off the warning at first, he thought it was cute of Hunter to be worried about him meeting the family. "Relax, if you had met my WHOLE family, I am sure you would understand that I am use to it all."

Hunter shrugged. "Don't say I didn't warn you." And opened the door.

The house was far more chaotic than anticipated. Jag slowly walked in as the family appeared to be all over the place. Suiryu was sitting at the kitchen table but appeared oddly fat. Snek was trying to round up his kids who took a liking to their human forms now and were running around all over the place. Melee was in the kitchen along with Tempest cooking dinner. Garou hung back and was keeping an eye on everything. Everyone else appeared to be all over the place, just trying to avoid colliding into each other and just getting through. "Damn…" Jag muttered as he froze to it all.

"Yeah, I forgot to mention how many siblings I got… there are six that are adopted, then there five who belong to Snek. Everyone else you see are my siblings more or less… oh, if you are wondering about Suiryu, he's holding on to my sister since she's preggers."

"Wait… he's holding on to her?" Jag asked with great confusion as he pointed to Suiryu.

"Yeah, long story short, in this family or if a monster is ridiculously strong, they take care of their mate until she gives birth, then after, they take care of the children." Hunter explained. "My dad did that with all my siblings, even the adopted ones he took care of housing them in his own body… weird, but rather effective parenting."

"Oh…" Jag said with great confusion to it all.

"WILL YOU TWO PLEASE STOP TRYING TO TRAIN IN THE HOUSE!" scolded Snek, as his sons were attempting to spar with each other. However they were getting too quick on their feet, Snek was trying to get them to stop, but with little luck. However, Titan was quick to interfere as he suddenly snapped and coiled around the two boys and held them there.

"NO FAIR!" protested Pythan. "We're just training!"

"Not… in the house." Titan said gently. "Father even dictated that. Mother too. We abide by those rules, you do too!" Jag snickered as he watched Pythan and Bo trying to break free from Titan's coil. However they couldn't!

"Come on Titan, let us go!" protested Pythan. "We were just playing…"

"Yes, but when your father says something, shouldn't you listen?"

"Do you listen to Garou all the time?" muttered Bo.

"This isn't about me, now, I am going to let you go, if you want to train take it outside"

Titan uncoiled from the two, instead they lost their interest in training in the house and decided to sit and watch TV along with Pac, Goliath and Draven.

Tempest and Melee were still working on the meal, as others began to emurge from their rooms.

"Who took my favorite manga?!" demanded Akira. "It was on my bed, and now it's gone!"

"I didn't!" said Titan.

"All of mine are digital." Chimed Tempest.

"I learned my lesson from the last time in touching other people's stuff." Said Yuuma. "I wouldn't like it if someone did that to me."

"I've been at the Association all day," said Yuki.

"Rimuru hasn't gotten home yet…" called Titan.

"So Athena?" Akira asked.

"No, wait, didn't you led it to Jason?" asked Eclipsa. "Which manga was it?"

"Solo leveling."

"Jason has it." She said without a shadow of doubt. "Remember, Athena told you about the manga, you started to read it and became a fan and now you wanted Jason to join you in the fandom."

Akira sighed. "Damn it, I was just rereading that too… why did I led it out?!"

"You wish to share your passions… now, dinner is ready." Tempest called.

It was a mad dash to the table as everyone gathered around it. The dinning room appeared far more crowded than what he was expecting, yet Jag smiled as he took a seat. He didn't ask for any food since his plate was already taken and being filled as it was passed along the table.

When it returned, there was a pile of it!

"Wow…." He whispered.

"Eat up before my brothers devour everything…. Not to mention Suiryu, he's eating for more than one now isn't he?" Hunter asked.

"I don't know how this works…" Suiryu muttered as he patted his belly. "Am I eating food for her too? How is she getting it?"

"Not a dinner conversation we should be having" Hunter muttered under his breath.

"It's one of the more tamer ones." Muttered Goliath.

Jag smirked as the family talked about their day, what they plan on doing next. Rimuru came home a little later but there was still plenty to eat. However the family paused when he began to devour plate after plate of food and still needed more! "Where the hell have you been that is making you so hungry?" Garou demanded.

Rimuru gave his chest a firm pound to force the food down. "Oh… nowhere special… just working hard." He said as the food finally made it down his throat. "Say… odd question… does anyone who what happened to Silverfang?" he asked.

The table came to a strange pause. "Silverfang? Rank 3 in Class S right? Yeah… wait… I haven't heard much of him either. After he retired and the fall of the Heroes association, he fell off the face of the earth as it where." Jag said aloud.

"That's what he wants people to think." Said Garou. He looked to Jag oddly, but then shifted his gaze towards Rimuru. "What's with the interest? You do know Bang trained me in martial arts right?"

Rimuru nodded his head. "I do, I just wanted to ask him a few questions, that's all."

"What kind of questions?"

"Dad! You don't have to know everything!" Rimuru protested. "I just want to talk to him! Is that okay?"

Garou was taken aback by his tone. "You are hounding him a little," Melee said gently.

He sighed aloud and backed off. "Bang is with the Neo Heroes." Garou announced. "But he doesn't go by Bang, but Shaw."

"Wait, I've seen that guy Shaw. He's a thirty something hero… Bang was what, nearly 80?"

"He is beyond 80, but he is Shaw of the Neo Heroes. He's been turned young thanks to Alley and a friend of hers. Bang wanted to be sure the Neo Heroes didn't come after my family and joined them to keep an eye on them."

"Oh…"

Jag suddenly fell silent as the table filled with conversations he had no idea how to be a part of. So he just ate in silence and listened on. "You came from a big family too right?" came the voice of Melee.

He jumped a little as he found everyone was staring at him. "Yes…" he said awkwardly. "I'm the youngest and ironically the smallest in my family. I take up after my mother apparently."

"Smallest? You serious?" demanded Snek. "You're almost as tall as Tank Top Tiger. Not a big though, rather lean…"

"Snek it's sounding creepy now," said Melee.

He silenced himself rather quickly. "Besides that, what made you want to join the Association?" asked Hunter.

Jag smiled. "You saw where I lived, the place doesn't exactly make you grow in strength to say the least. Especially when my brothers get to a monster before I do. I chose to leave to find myself. Also, I wanted to find someone too. Not many people in my village or others are… you know…"

"Gay," said the whole table. "You don't have to tip toe around us on that, we don't care as to what your preference is." Garou insisted. "Besides, you make my son happy, I think that's a damn good thing"

Hunter blushed as Jag peered over to look at him, he too began to blush as well. "I… never though a son of Garou would give me the time of day. I mean… I am nothing special."

"Bullshit" came the voice of Pac.

"LANGUAGE!" protested Luna.

"It's called for," Pac said defensively. "Look, Just because we are these big strong monster like people. Doesn't mean we are looking for someone as powerful as we are… do you know how impossible that would be for us to find someone if we had that mindset?" he demanded. "No, we don't look at people we care and love for that way."

"Awww!" cooed Luna, Eclipsa, Athena, Conna and Angie.

"Of course the girls would think that's cute." Snickered Akira. "Besides the point, we want to find someone just like you do. Someone who likes us for us… not easy to say the least."

"Have you been looking for someone?" asked Melee.

Akira fell silent, he began to eat once more to avoid the question.

"It's not easy to have a relationship either, I know," said Pac.

"Doesn't help when Metal Bat breaths down your neck either…" said Garou.

"ANYWAYS!" called Max. "It's nice you two found each other, Hunter is a great guy, and I am glad someone looked beyond his physical changes and sees him for who he really is. A genuine, great guy who will have your back. Same with the family"

Jag smiled once more to their words. "I know that," he said.

The meal finished up, it was getting late and Jag decided to take his leave. Hunter walked him down the steps. The moment they were out of view of the house, Jag took a deep breath and appeared rather amazed. "Dude… your family…" he said.

Hunter scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah… they can be a lot…"

"They are amazing!" he said. "They are all so different and yet… I can tell they you guys all care about each other,"

"People think we are constantly battling each other for dad's approval. We bicker every so often but we don't have to fight to get mom or dad's attention. Come to think of it, all my siblings have been rather independent… except for Titan, that kid is in a league of his own!"

Jag snickered. "Yeah… I had a good time tonight. I got to meet your family and it appears they like me… at least, I hope they do…"

"If they didn't you would know, trust me." Hunter insisted.

They reached the bottom of the stairs. Jag sighed aloud as he turned to Hunter with a blushing smile. "Thank you for today…" he leaned in and went for the kiss. Hunter smiled, as he made certain to return it!


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

The next day.

Yuki made his way to the lab of the Association. With Alley out of commission for a while, he has started to step up and take command of things. He learned quickly as to what needs to be done and the extensive work his sister does constantly keeping the Association going. However, today was different. He was about to enter the lab when he saw Genus waiting outside the doors in a confused stated. "Dr. Genus?" he asked.

He turned to Yuki with great confusion. "Oh good, you're here… what do you make of this?" he asked. The door was opened a crack, he peered in and saw Suiryu of all people going over Alley's notes! He tried to write something but appeared frustrated. "Damn it, I can't see clearly!" he protested.

However Yuki saw this odd glow around his body. "Wait… is he glowing to you?"

Genus looked and nodded. "Indeed."

"I think I know what's going on…" he walked into the lab, Suiryu paid no mind to them as he continued on. He was trying to read the notes and write something but became flustered. "Why isn't this working?! I should have developed this ability better…"

Yuki cleared his voice abruptly and got his attention. Suiryu looked up but his eyes were squinting. "Whose there!"

"Alley…" Yuki said gently.

Suiryu froze and was taken aback. "Yuki… you can sense me!? GOOD! I need help! I don't know where I am, I am able to take possession of the closest body to me to write for help… but… I really don't know what's going on… I'm scared!"

"Sister, please, sit down and take a moment to relax. Release your hold for now as I go got big brother Goliath."

Genus came into the room and was quick to help. Grabbing a chair he helped ease Suiryu into the chair as Alley released her hold on him. The moment she did, Suiryu's eyes closed and he was fast asleep! "Huh, that's how she did it. Waited for his mind to fall into a sense of slumber, easier to manipulate…"

"Never mind that, go get your brother, the strong esper one." Genus insisted.

He was quick to find Goliath in the training rooms. He was assisting Tank Top Master when Yuki approached. "Big brother? I need to borrow you for a moment please."

Goliath nodded as he excused himself from the room. As they went back to the lab, Yuki explained everything. His brother however, froze mid way. "Wait… what?!" he demanded. "You mean to tell me, Alley is taking possession of Suiryu when he's asleep!?"

"It appears that way, she is scared since she doesn't know where she is, and has done so in order to acquire help… she thinks she is in danger."

Goliath sighed aloud. "We better settle this then, or else they are both going to be in trouble…" They began to sprint back to the lab, and just in time too. Genus had moved Suiryu to the floor as his stomach began to bulge and act out. He was in great discomfort and was trying to rub relief into his stomach. However, his eyes were still close…

"Is he SLEEPING through all this!?" Goliath demanded.

"I don't know but please, remedy this!" pleaded Genus.

Goliath nodded as he began to glow blue. Suddenly Suiryu did too. The commotion stopped as Goliath suddenly had this strange look in his eyes, he turned to Yuki and said. "Wait… you mean to tell me…"

"Alley? Are you possessing Goliath?!"

"He told me to, his esper abilities boost mine so I can see… why is Suiryu fat?!"

"Uh… Alley, to put it frankly, it's what your father did with your mother when she was pregnant…" Genus said gently.

He froze, Goliath's jaw dropped as he stared once more at Suiryu on the floor. "Wait… I'm IN him? HOW!"

"Alley, we don't know, but the more you fight, the more you harm him. He's been doing well taking care of you, but please, you need to calm yourself down and let this happen. I doubt you are able to get out of him at this point." Yuki explained.

"But… how did he do this? How did I not notice? It doesn't make sense to me."

"Alley, at the moment the discovery of this isn't important at all. What matters is your health and his and that of your child, correct?" Genus questioned.

She made Goliath sigh aloud and nod. "Okay…"

"If you need anything, rather than trying to possess him, just tell us telepathically, I am certain we will be able to hear you." Yuki insisted.

With that, the glowing vanished. Goliath shook his head clear and sighed with relief. Suiryu's stomach was calm as he finally woke up. Yet, as he did, he looked about with great confusion. "How did I get in the lab?" he asked.

Goliath helped him to his feet. "Long story, but for now, you hungry?" asked Goliath.

"I could eat,"

"Let's go then,"

As they left the lab, Yuki sighed aloud to it all. "You think things settle down around here… apparently they don't!"

"I am still getting use to it myself…" Genus said offhandedly. "Nonetheless, I much rather be on the side of the family than to be against them. Heaven knows I am the one who caused them such anguish."

He was curious now. "Oh?" asked Yuki.

Genus froze, realizing he let something slip. But sighed in defeat of it all. "Yes, for you see. I wasn't always looking for ways to help the world… I did in my own twisted sense of logic, believing humans needed to evolve themselves in order to be better creatures… playing God was one of my past times." He went into details about the house of evolution. Yuki remembered the notes he read, but didn't believe Genus wrote them all for the sake of experiments. "You have met… Zombieman correct? I made him into what he is today… in fact, thanks to him…" he paused and began to rub the left side of his face, removing make up and revealing the white, grey skin under the foundation. "He and Alley saved my life when I was attacked by my own clones."

"Dr. Genus…"

"Just Genus, it's fine. But you must understand Yuki. Everyone has a sense of what they believe is right and what they believe needs to happen. I was wrong in my pursuit of evolution. However that dream didn't die. My clones who believed in the cause and wished to go beyond it, have taken up the mantel… They have caused such harm to this family… in fact… No, I can't say it…"

"I know Genus. My brothers and sister were created from the house of evolution… we were experiments." He said. "Father told us when we asked him how we came to be, since we didn't resemble mother all that much."

Silence fell between the two, Genus unable to find his words, Yuki knowing he opened up old wounds in the doctor. Yet, silence never brought about resolution. "Be that as it may, I have dedicated my life into helping Alley and her family. I will be certain the house of evolution falls once and for all!" he vowed.

"And then, we will find way to bring about a more peaceful world!"

"Lofty goal to say the least." said Yuki as he ventured to his work station. He went over Alley's notes once more, what she was working on and how to improve the heroes under her Association. Some ideas began to trickle into his mind. "Ooo, weapon development…" he whispered.

"What was that?"

"Alley wanted to make some new weapons… I think I could do that too. I did make those metal claws for Jaguar and Tank Top Tiger."

"Ah yes, those things, the two never stop talking about them. Tiger in particular, he's rather pleased that he can take down a monster rather well with those."

Yuki however was lost in thought as he looked over some potential weapons. He knows he will make new ones for Zombieman again, especially considering what he is going through today in helping Tempest train. Another was Stinger, his weapon of chose was a bamboo shoo, however, if it was modified and he is out with Max on patrols…

"I think I may have some ideas… not to mention… a new method of bullets for Zombieman and Sharp shooter…"


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

It was a rare thing for it to happen.

He was gave him permission to go into the subbasement of the association. Very few have ever reached the depths of the mountain, and today it was for a special occasion. Tempest was there and saw Zombieman waiting for him. There was a glare in his eyes as he turned to him and the sneer followed. "You ain't wearing anything that is a recording device are you?!" he demanded.

"No, we have an agreement." Tempest stated. He even changed into his mawashi belt for the occasion. There was no recording device on his person what so ever. "I really do appreciate this. My official weigh in is coming up, and soon after a tournament no less and I don't wish to kill anyone."

Zombieman merely nodded as he put on a pair of bike shorts, he then clipped the belt around his waist before reluctantly pushing the button.

The device unleashed this oozing looking substance, like the slime he has seen Alley use, yet it encased Zombieman's whole body! When it stopped, he looked rather large and worthy of a sumo wrestler. He even looked over himself before letting out a sigh. "So this is what I would look like fat huh?" he muttered. "Come on kid let's get this over with"

Tempest nodded.

They spent an hour testing his strength. The first strike Tempest landed made Zombieman gasp. "Too hard… your broke my ribs." He warned.

It startled him. "I'm so sorry! Do you want to stop?" yet in ten minutes he was fine. "Wait, aren't you hurt?"

"You have no idea who I am do you kid? I'm called Zombieman for a reason. I can't be killed." He explained. "You can hit me as hard as you want, I won't die from it. But for now, I am here to gauge your strength. So ease up on your strike, I'm what? A three hundred pound sumo or something?"

He nodded, he eased up on his strikes, and the second one knocked the wind out of him, but warned that was still on the brink of breaking ribs. The third strike was enough to knock a man out of the ring. "Okay, so that's the lightweights you would be going up against. Let's see Alley's instructions said if I turned this…" he turned the knob on his belt, the mass increased around Zombieman as he began to look more like the professional sumos. "Okay, let's see what this can do. Let it rip!"

The training was very insightful. Tempest understood how to control his own strength and knows he needs to be careful doing so. He has figured out the extent of power needed to gain his victory, and also at the same time ensures that he puts on a good enough show to be promoted.

When the session finished, Tempest bow graciously. "Thank you so much for your help."

"Yeah," said Zombieman as he undid his device, ripped it off and passed it over to Tempest. He leaned in and very sternly stated. "Never speak of this again!"

One lesson was done, and Tempest had to go off for his next one.

#

He didn't get much time with Oni, yet when he was able to, Tempest learned all the mannerisms of being a sumo wrestler from him. There was a certain way one needed to carry themselves in the ring and out in public. Such as he cannot raise his voice in anger, nor is he to fight pointless battles. "You are able to defend yourself if need be or for the safety of others. HOWEVER, if you start the fight, you are not worthy of being a sumo wrestler!" he was told.

Since then, Tempest as worked on his composure, he has to keep his himself calm and ensure nothing provoked his anger or would cause him to strike back against another. He only needed a few days to learn and perfect everything.

On the last lesson, Oni had leaned into him and whispered. "I want you to enter this." And slipped him a paper.

Curious, Tempest opened up the slip and read it. "A tournament? But I haven't registered yet"

"This is for after you register." Oni explained. "Without this, you will be in the bottom ranks for a while. This is a special tournament that is invite only, you will have a special privilege since you are being sponsored by a former Yokozuna!"

He was uncertain as to what he should make of it. It sounded like a pass to get into the higher sumo bracket. "Oni… is this fair to the others under your teachings?" he asked. "I feel as if I just stole this from someone."

Oni waved off his concern. "These are only given to those who we believe to be in a higher talent of the sumo federation. You have shown me and many of my students your abilities, despite just taking up the sport. Not to mention, your teacher is one hell of a teacher isn't he?"

It brought a small smile to his lips. He thought over the various ways his father had trained him in strength. Recently, he has been using Pythan and Bo in helping him with his feet work. He had a habit of lifting his foot too soon off the ground, that could potentially thrown him off balance. So, Tempest was taught to 'slither' on two feet.

That was merely the start of it.

There have been other tests and exercises his father created to get him stronger, Tempest already knew his power was growing thanks to his father's lessons. "Very well then, I accept."

Oni's smile grew. "I knew you would! Now then, we need to get you ready, your official registration is tomorrow. You should have a good hot shower tonight and make certain you bring a change of clothing along with your Mawashi belt and loincloth. You need to be wearing that when weighed in."

He nodded his head and stood from his chair, with a gracious bow, Tempest thanked Oni for his time and efforts. "I will do you proud. Thank you Sensei for everything."

#

The next day…

He stood in line with all the others waiting to sign up when he heard the whispering. "Pretty boy is in the wrong line."

"No kidding, what does he think this is?"

"Who cares, he'll be out of this in no time."

They continued to whisper behind his back, but he chose to ignore it. His goal was in sight as he was one step closer to becoming Yokozuna! "Next!"

It was finally his turn.

Tempest walked in before a small panel of judges and officials. He was measured for his height with appeared impressive to them. "Six feet, twelve inches" they called out.

'Not bad,' Tempest thought, he stood rather tall over all the other wrestlers, so he may have a bit of an advantage there. His weight though he wasn't sure about. He has tried to put on a few pounds, even with the new diet he found his body has not changed the least bit. He was big, however he appeared rather trim to say the least. He could still see abs!

"On the scale please."

He snapped out of his moment of confusion as other wrestlers peered in laughing at him. Yet as his feet hit the scale they went silent. They haven't adjusted it from the last man who walked through. He was 478 pounds. The moment Tempest stepped on it, the scale instantly tipped. The officials were stunned as they began to move the scale farther and farther down to try and balance it. Even Tempest was stunned as it moved beyond the five hundred mark!

Farther and farther they continued to push until it balanced. "Uh… is this right?" one official called.

They began to look over the scale before deeming it was broken. "Sorry sir can you go onto the other scale for us please?"

"Yes, of course," Tempest stepped off, they brought out a brand new one and fully calibrated. He stepped on it with caution as they began to move the bar down to balance. The looks on their faces weren't ones he liked, they themselves couldn't believe the results. "Uh… it's official… weight, 702 pounds 4 ounces."

He stepped off and turned as the other sumos froze. "Seven… seven hundred?!" they whispered.

"Check his belt! It's weighted!" One shouted.

"His mawashi belt was inspected before he put it on, there is no weight to the belt, Tempest, welcome to the Sumo federation. Earn your titles well, the more victories you obtain the quicker your rank will rise, understood?"

"Fully," he said.

"Cut your hair too, your hair is too long"

He froze.

He has to cut his hair? But… he loves his hair! However it is against the rules and traditions, with a sigh he vowed to have it done properly before he competes. With that, he returned to the change room and placed on his civilian clothing.

#

He walked out of there with his official papers. Tempest Brawler. Rank Jonokuchi, the bottom of the barrel, however it's the starting point of his sumo career at least for now. Just as he walked out of the registration, he was suddenly grabbed and lifted off the ground effortlessly. "YOU DID IT!"

He laughed as his feet hit the ground, he turned and saw his father beaming with pride. "You're registered! Now… the real fun begins!"

Tempest remembered the invitation only tournament Oni insisted he enter, it was a few days from now and it was a week long.

"Dad… what if I am not ready for this? I mean, this is an invite only tournament, Oni's name is on this and I have to do him proud, what if I am not ready!" Tempest demanded.

His father merely snickered. "Invite only huh? You must have some skills if a former Yokozuna is backing you. That's already going to tip this in your favor. As for being ready… you've been ready since you left the damn sumo stable!" He has never see such passion flair up in his father's eyes, there was a look of excitement and yet a hint of evil all at once as he clenched his fists in excitement. "Think of it Tempest, one week, how many sumos can you defeat in that time? How much can we increase your rank in that time? After that, you need to bank your victories depending on the rank you get. If eight victories gets you leveled up… how many more will get you up four tiers?" he asked.

He never thought about like that. After this tournament, the official ones are a fifteen day event, with so many other wrestlers who have registered, there was a good opportunity before him. He nodded his head. "Okay, let's…"

Before he could finish, he was grabbed by the arm and was airborne! His father wasn't going to wait until later, he flew him as fast as he could to City D to register. His feet hit the ground rather suddenly as they arrived at the arena. With a gulp of his pride, Tempest went in and sighed up for the invite only tournament. Despite his low rank, the moment they saw Oni's name on the paper along with Tempest's, the officers went pale and accepted his registration form.

#

They went to the Association shortly after. Tempest had one final piece of business to attend to. Sadly it meant taking what he treasured most about his look. His father was instant to pick up on his reluctance. "Something wrong? You keep touching your hair."

"Oh… I have to cut it." He said lowly. "I don't want to… I really like my hair!"

Garou nodded. "Let's go see your brother…" He wasn't certain as to why he suggested such a thing, yet by the time they reached Alley's lab, he found his brother Yuki working along side Genus. "This is remarkable, it really works!"

"Ahem" Father said a little loudly.

The two paused and faced him. "Hi dad!" Yuki called. "What's up?"

"Tempest here needs some help. He can't have long hair for his tournament coming up. He's going to have to cut it…"

"What?! NO!" protested Yuki. "There's no need for that! We just got something from Boros! Brother I can fix this easily, don't cut your braids!"

Tempest was curious now. "What did he sent?"

He reached over the table and took what appeared to be a mere plastic elastic band. "Come here, let's me show you!" As Tempest approached, he felt his hair get moved around, when suddenly, the back of his head grew lighter!

SNAP

He froze as he looked to Genus and father who nodded their approval. "Nice, a volume controlling device I see?" his father stated.

"More or less, look in the mirror Tempest." Said Yuki.

He took a moment and peered into a small mirror on the wall. His hair had shrunk down to standards acceptable in sumo wrestling, but he wondered how! "This… is incredible!"

"Can't have you losing your signature look. You love your braids!" Yuki said and smirked. "Just don't wear that all the time, when you are done your tournament, or whatever, take it off when you get home." He explained.

Tempest smiled and nodded. Turning to his father he announced. "Let's prepare for the tournament"


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

At the Dragon's keep.

He kept going over the costume. Yuuma started in the mirror and nodded his head to it. "This should work, a little dumpy but it should do…" he said, until a gentle knock came to his door. "Come on in."

His sister peered in. Athena smiled as she came into the room, but paused. "What the hell is that?!" she demanded.

"Band costume… why?"

"You're wearing a rug!"

"I am not!"

"You look like you are! What are you suppose to be a bath mat monster?"

He glared at her. "It was all we had at the time, the band is name raised by wolves, so we are trying to look…"

"You look like you were raised by a dumpster" she protested with her arms crossed. With a sigh she stormed out of the room. Yuuma didn't think much of it so he took the costume off for now. Yet the more he looked at it the more he realized she was right. It looked trashy to say the least, but what more could be done? It was all they had that would go with the wolf mask Yuki made for them. He decided to forget about it for now.

He ventured out of his room and saw Snek's kids at the kitchen table, he smiled as they were in their human forms and getting use to the concept of it. Pythan was rather excited since he said they would be going out to the mall again today. "This is getting to be fun, but we should we do at the mall today?" he asked.

"Shop, what else!" Conna explained. "But let's try and avoid the creepy looking people."

"We can handle it," said Bo.

The four were going to go with their father, Snek. He promised to get them new clothing to wear and insisted that they can pick it out themselves. Since then, they couldn't wait! As he entered the room, the four paused and smiled to him. "Yuuma! Wanna go to the mall!?" they asked.

"Thanks, but I think I'll pass. I get too crowded by people." He explained.

The Mall leaves a sour taste in his mouth. He went out a while ago, just wanting to get out of the house and try something new. Snek spoke of a coffee bar that served sweet drinks, Yuuma loves sweet things and was curious to try. Yet when he went there and got his drink, the moment he sat down, people began to stop and whisper. Perhaps wearing a mask in public wasn't the best idea either. It made him appear more 'mysterious' to those around him.

"Who is he?"

"Some sort of rebel"

"He's dreamy!"

"Look at his face though, so stern and stoic… My God he's hot!"

"If you quint, he looks like Amai Mask!"

"How can you tell? He's wearing a mask… then again…"

That's want did it in for him. The moment they mention his name he leaves. He hates it when people compare him to such a man. Still, as he walked the streets, people stopped and stared at him. Girls approached him fearlessly, some took out their cell phones to catch photos of him as he walked by. He resented those the most. Not to mention they have appeared on a website. Identify the hunk, it's called, and his photos are plastered all over it!

"Yuuma?"

He snapped out of his train of thoughts. "Sorry, thank you for the invite, but, I will pass for now. You have fun with your father." He insisted.

They appeared slightly disappointed, but nodded. Snek emerged from his room, stretching himself out however he paused. Turning around, his skin looked all flakey. "Damn it, not again!" he protested.

"Shedding?" asked Yuuma.

"Yeah… you think being fifty feet long isn't enough?"

"That is very impressive though, dad said before you were twenty when you first became that…"

"Don't remind me…" he said in a begrudging tone. He sighed aloud and excused himself to go outside. There's an industrial shower out there, but with a feature Alley added on for those who are serpent, at the push of a button there's a device that gently goes over the body, and takes the skin off in one quick swoop! Yuuma has used it a few times already and it's like getting a massage!

"So, what are you going to get at the mall?" he asked the four.

They shrugged their shoulders to it all. "Really, we just want to spend time with Papa" whispered Angie.

He smiled and nodded to the notion, Snek returned and called for the kids to join him. "Let's get going!" but he then turned to Yuuma. "Wanna come too?"

He politely turned him down, when they left though. Yuuma sighed aloud. Despite his hatred of Amai Mask, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of a father he would have been. He has seen Drax leave on weekends but never says where he goes, until he found out that he goes to see Amai.

Drax is more of a son to him than his own children.

That's what bothered him the most; it's what made him angry about the whole thing. Yuuma gets jealous at times, Drax gets to spend time with the man who should be raising him and his siblings. He still loves his mother and father, yet a part of him still wonders…

"Yuuma!"

He snapped out of his trance, Athena waved him over. Curious though, what was she smiling about?

He followed her down the hallway towards her room. Yuuma has never really been in before, yet he froze when he saw her walk in closet and the sewing materials that lined it! "Whoa… your room is bigger than mine!" he protested.

"For good reason! You think I could make all that stuff for you guys in a cramped space?!" she demanded. Then she tossed him two articles of clothing. "Try them" she demanded.

"Huh? Uh… Okay…"

He took off his shirt and put on what Athena threw at him. He paused when he realized the material was course fur, and she made it into a rather nice looking vest! "Wait… you got this off of…"

"That poor excuse of a so called costume was not going to see the light of day on my watch!" she protested. "How does it feel? Does it fit well?" she asked.

He looked himself over in the mirror and nodded his head to it. "Perfectly"

"Good, here's the pants that go with it." The pants were made of a rough leather, however they looked well warn in and moveable. He shamelessly took off his pants and tried them on. "In your own room next time!" she protested.

Yuuma smirked. "Come on, when we're snakes I'm naked, you do know that right?"

"Yeah, but I don't see an ass crack or your junk!" she snapped back. But it was too late. He put on the pants and marveled at the outfit. It was perfect!

"This is amazing sis!"

"I got everyone else's made too."

"Wait, how?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Somehow I can make measurements by looking at someone. So far I have everything down perfectly!" she said proudly. "I made Tempest his mawashi belt and his robes, but according to him I can't use any of my fancy material since he's just starting and sumo wrestlers have to earn it." She said and sighed. "Seems stupid to me."

"Yeah, it does… Is that where he is today? Training with dad?"

"Actually, I think he is registering today to become a sumo wrestler." She stated.

Yuuma didn't quite understand this sport, however, he would support his older brother no matter what! If anything, he has never seen Tempest more driven before. Normally he would stay with the family and refusing to try something new or different. Now, he is exploring on his own and wants to improve himself. "Athena… Thank you for this."

She smiled. "Anytime"

#

"Whoa, your sister made these?!"

Yuuma called for his band mates to meet up and discuss their new look. Thanks to Athena, she made them all matching outfits with different colors. Yuki even reprogramed the wolf glasses as he liked to call them to offer different shades of 'fur' that are to outline their faces. Not to mention another little treat, he gave everyone new hair styles so they stood out and yet didn't look like themselves.

Drax wore an all white fur vest, his hair was long and white as well as was his wolf mask. "We need to confirm our band names. I know before we were just tossing about different titles but let's make it official since we got our look down pact. How about Artic for me? Art for short?" he said.

"Ooo, I like it!" said Jason. "Timber for me," he said as he proudly wore his dark brown wolf 'suit.'

"Whine!" said Luna. As her wolf suit was brown and white.

"Clawdine" said Eclipsa wearing her light brown wolf costume.

"Beta," said Akira. His suit was black with brown shades.

Yuuma thought over his. "How about Alpha for you?" asked Drax. "You are the lead singer right?"

"I don't want to sound too presumptuous… is that okay with everyone that I use the name Alpha?"

Everyone nodded. "It's perfect for you. Now then, we got our look, we got our name and nick names… all we got to do now is enter and play… here's hoping we make it in." Jason said.

"From what I have heard…" Drax said offhandedly. "There are going to be twists and turns every which way, we need to prepare for everything and anything happening and also something we may never see coming."

They nodded, for the rest of the day, they came up with worst case scenarios. Like broken equipment, missing band member, delays, faulty equipment and various songs to carry them through. They have picked out their favorite songs and even found one with their band name in it to use! "We are SO going to stand out!" Luna said proudly. "Thanks to Alley's device and Uncle Knuckle printing the sheet music."

"Here's hoping Alley hasn't released any other bands into the supercontinent besides Disturbed." Said Yuuma.

"Best part is we can modify these songs too" said Drax

"Indeed we can!" Akira said proudly. "We can amend them so they can be more palatable to the ear. You know Amai doesn't like rough or ugly sounding music right?"

"No shit." Said Drax. But then his watch went off. "Damn it, I got to go guys, sorry. Neo hero job, we'll practice tomorrow okay?"

"Sure thing Drax," Yuuma said as he went off. He sighed though.

"You okay?" Akira asked.

He went quite all of a sudden. Yuuma turned to his band mate and said. "I have a jealousy towards Drax." He whispered. "I know none of this is his fault, and it's beyond his control but… he has the love of two fathers. One is his true parent, and the other… that should be mine."

"Oh Yuuma!" Luna pulled him into her arms, at first he didn't return the hug, he merely let her blanket him into it. He needed this right now.

"I still can't stand him, but how it is… that he sounds like a great father to Drax, but not me… his own child… or my brothers and sister for that matter… how is that fair?"

"It's not." Said Jason. "You got screwed over, I get it. But the fact remains is this, you still have a loving mother and father who don't care about who or what you are, they love you no matter what. You at least got a mom and a dad in a sense… I was a test tube baby."

"Huh?" Yuuma asked with great confusion.

"A clone, I am clone from Zombieman, remember?" He explained. "I don't like telling a lot of people about it, but I wasn't the only one either, my sister Misty and brother who you haven't met yet named Gene, all three of us are clones."

"My mother was a clone of Melee… but the real Melee treats me just like her own child… and I see her more like my true mother each and every day. Dad… I don't know if dad still resents us… he was forced to raise us…"

"Dad doesn't." said Eclipsa. "Yes, he was at first, he even told you that, but he loves you as much as he does us. He's spending a lot of time with Tempest though… it's upsetting mom a little bit since she thinks he ought to spread that time around with everyone else."

Yuuma smiled. "I don't mind. Dad comes home and talks to us, he has heard me play and listens when we practice… honestly, that's good for me. Tempest needs his help the most right now." He paused and smiled even wider. "I really should forget about Amai. After all, the dad I have at least wants me around…"

"Shit man, right in the feelings!" protested Jason.

#

Later that day, wearing their band 'uniforms' as it where, they made their way to City R at the record studio. There they had to pick up an application and sign up for the contest. Yet the moment they walked in, people stopped and stared at them. "What the hell is this?"

"Who are they?"

"Are they a band? They look like a pack of wolves!"

Yuuma smiled as he approached the front desk. He also trained himself to lower the pitch of his voice as he talked so he didn't sound like Amai Mask. "We're here to apply for the battle of the bands contest… do we sign up here?" he asked.

The secretary was stunned but nodded her head as she took the application out. "If you are given the call back, you must come to the studio, bring your own equipment and set up accordingly. There are no reschedule dates, you miss it, you are out. Understood?" she asked in a slightly nervous tone.

Yuuma nodded. He took the application and read it over with the others. They needed a home address for contact. "Use mine," said Jason. "They will know otherwise…"

"True, thank you," Yuuma filled out the application, he then had everyone sign it with their band names but also filled in Drax's space on his behalf and passed it back. The secretary read over the application and nodded her approval.

"We will be in contact with you if you are selected."

"Thank you for your time."

As they walked out, there were already whispers about them. The rumors and stories already began to spread, even their photos were taken and soon plastered on the internet.

Last thing Yuuma heard out the door was. "We must tell Amai Mask about them, they are already generating buzz!"


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

He has been waiting outside for him.

It was only a matter of time before Drax had to leave and go to his Neo hero job. Rimuru was waiting for him to excuse himself from the band to go. Yet the moment he stepped out the door, he revealed himself. "Drax!" he called.

He paused. "Rimuru?"

"I… have a favor to ask… can you introduce me to Bang?" he asked. "I… have something I wish to ask him."

A pause came over Drax, then a look of curiosity. "Okay then," he said. "You need to come with me now if that's the case. I am going into work."

Rimuru's eyes widened as he nodded his head. He followed Drax down to the bottom of the stairs and from there, they began to walk towards the Neo Heroes Headquarters that established itself in City Z…

#

He never knew security was so tight for the Neo Heroes, but perhaps it is understandable considering they are just a newly established hero league. Drax had to pull some strings to get Rimuru in, he insisted and vouched for him stating he was a good friend and wished to meet one of his fellow heroes. It was permitted on the grounds that Rimuru not touch anything or disrupt anyone's training.

"You want to walk around for a bit, that's okay. I got to find Accel or someone. Believe it or not, I haven't been called into work for a long while, I want some answers damn it!"

A nod came from Rimuru as Drax went on his way. He found himself wondering about until he heard a commotion outside. Curious, Rimuru ventured out and around the back of the complex. There he saw them. Accel, Raiden and Master Bang training on a giant robot! It was reduced to scrap in mere moments, however Rimuru was amazed that Master Bang could slice through steel so effortlessly!

If anything, Master Bang looked much like his father, Garou.

"Excuse me!" Rimuru called as he gathered his courage.

He approached the three heroes with great caution. Accel and Raiden paused and stared at him oddly. "Who the hell is this kid?" Raiden demanded.

Rimuru didn't know how Bang would react to his request, however, he wanted to learn from him to impress his father. "Excuse me… Silverfang sir!" he called.

It not just caught the attention of Bang, but that of the heroes he was with. Accel and Raiden both paused as they stared at Rimuru oddly. "Wait. How did you know…" Bang began to ask.

"Sir… I wish to learn from you. My name is Rimuru and I wish to learn fists of flowing water," he announced.

He appeared confused as he approached him rather oddly. Taking in his features in and looking into his eyes, Rimuru froze to the glare. It was rather awkward and uncomfortable for him, however he endured as Bang slowly backed up. "Rimuru huh?" he asked.

"Rimuru, what kind of name is that?" demanded Raiden.

"It's my name," he explained. Rimuru turned to Bang. "Master Bang, sir, please take me on as your student."

Accel however came right between them. "I want an explanation here… you come out of NOWHERE and demand an audience with Bang… who not many people know to be him... what are you trying to pull here kid?" he demanded.

He froze to the onslaught of question and inquires, he didn't know what to say until Bang's hand gently came on that of Accel's shoulder. "Perhaps he is a little wiser beyond his years, besides one can be recognized through form and technique and not appearance, right?" Bang asked but gave a strange look to him, compelling Rimuru to play along.

"Ye… Yes! yes, that is exactly how I knew it was him!" he announced.

"Still don't buy it…" muttered Raiden. "But, one wishing to learn from Bang, but have some experience in martial arts to appreciate his methods. Although, I haven't seen him fight…"

"Huh?"

"What we are trying to say kid, is if you want to train with Bang, you need to join us, the Neo Heroes!" Accel explained with a grin on his face.

"Wait, don't pressure the boy…" protested Bang.

"Okay," Rimuru said without hesitation. "Sure, what do I need to do?"

Accel smirked, as did Raiden. "Pass a little test of our to see your potential. If anything we will have you face someone named Darkshine and see how far you get." Accel explained.

"Darkshine, former Class S hero… yeah, I think I can take him. Okay sure!" there was no doubt in his voice and the confidence he has started Accel a little.

But it wasn't quite that by the looks of it. "Your voice…" Accel said offhandedly. "You sound a lot like Amai Mask!"

Rimuru nearly froze, however he had dealt with this all time as he went from master to master learning martial arts. "I get that a lot!" he said with a laugh. "If I had a yen every time someone said that to me, I could retire by now!"

"This ain't his kid, too much personality," whispered Raiden.

Raiden… Rimuru then remembered, Raiden is a sumo wrestler… "Sir… I have to ask you, how did you become yokozuna?"

He was taken aback by the question. "What, are you looking into sumo wrestling?!" he laughed.

He forced a smile. "Yes, in fact… I am…"

'More importantly, I can see for my self and let Tempest know later' Rimuru thought.

"You would have a death wish going up against me kid. Sumo wrestling isn't simple, it's not easy, nor is it for the faint of heart!"

He nodded his head. "It's a hardcore sport, I know. After all, you wear nothing more than a mawashi belt, all that stands between you and your opponent are the skills each of you has, it shows the complexity of the sport but a profound respect for those who are in it."

The three men froze. "Screw the test, take this kid in!" Raiden announced. "Let me train him with Bang here!"

"Really? You want to train him?" Bang asked, but smiled. "Very well then, Rimuru… would you care to join us?"

He nodded, without really knowing what he was getting himself into!

#

He was walked to the Neo Heroes. Rimuru didn't quite know what to expect as he took in the sights and sounds of the Headquarters. Yet at the same time, Bang kept looking to him oddly. Wondering perhaps as to who he really is.

They entered in through the lobby when Rimuru heard a familiar voice. "Still nothing!"

He paused and saw Drax at the front desk.

"Look, I've been patient in seeing if you guys still want me here or not, Bad's back but still no call to help out. Seriously, what the hell!" he demanded. But he paused from his shouting when he saw them. Drax then froze as his eyes came upon Rimuru. "Oh… hey…" he saw awkwardly.

Accel noticed the look. "Wait, Drax, do you know him?!" he demanded.

"Uh…"

"He's joining us in exchange for training, and you will be paid of course. For once, the Neo Heroes will have their own Amai Mask!"

Drax then froze, his eyes widened as Rimuru as if he let the secret out. "Hey! Just because I look like the jackass doesn't mean I am related to him!" he said and awkwardly laughed.

Drax sighed with relief, in which Bang caught. "Accel, let me speak with our new recruit here… and Drax, why don't you join me, perhaps we will have a new partner for you after all!"

Accel was hesitant. "I don't know Bang… What if you are going to convince them…"

"Convince them of what? Look, Drax just came here to insist he wants back out on patrol. He could have joined the association in his off time but didn't. I know how to train young, promising men like these two here. So, do you want me to help out or not?!" With Bang being so young, his voice was firm and yet carried weight in the Neo Heroes.

Accel sighed and nodded in agreement, Raiden turned to Rimuru and stated. "You better be ready for when we spar, got it!"

"You are going to spar with him!?" Drax demanded.

"Yeah…" Rimuru said with a hint of excitement to his voice.

With that, he was ushered out of the room by Bang, he decided to take the boys out on to the streets to have their chat. When he found a hidden alleyway, he grabbed the two and brought them in. His arms instantly crossed. "Answers… now if you please… You…." He said pointing to Rimuru. "Who are you?"

His face flushed, yet he couldn't bring himself to speak. Drax however did for him. "Rimuru Brawler, son of Amai Mask and a clone of Melee. Amai got caught by the house of evolution, pretty much did the same thing to him the same thing they did to my dad. Rimuru is one of six…"

"The sweet six…" Bang said.

"Please, don't call me that… I beg of you."

Bang nodded as he turned back to Drax. "When Amai regained himself, and learned about what happened, he was going to kill them. Melee and Garou stopped him… after Luna kicked Amai's ass to say the least. Since then, Garou has called them his own, they recognized him as their father." Drax paused. "Since then, they are just trying to find their own place in this world… I got to admit though, I have no idea what Rimuru was thinking!"

He sighed. "I want to learn fists of flowing water!" he protested. "Don't tell my dad, but I've been learning martial arts for him… so he would be proud of me… I want to be like him, but I don't quite have the genius combatant skill he does. It can take me a full week to learn something,"

"A week?!" demanded Bang. "That's nothing short of amazing! It can take students of mine YEARS of dedication! But a week… hmm, I may have to see for myself what you are capable of. If anything, what Accel said maybe true. Drax, you could be looking at your new partner!"

Drax was stunned, however smirked. "Really? I train your brother to play guitar now I get to train with you on martial arts? Nice!"

"I am going to learn from Raiden too… not that I have an interest in Sumo wrestling, but it's for Tempest's sake. He's been training hard for that, and I want to see if I can help him prepare to challenge Raiden when he's ready…"

"Tempest?" asked Bang.

"My older brother, he's training to be a sumo wrestler."

Bang was confused, greatly confused. "Huh… Who would have thought someone in your family would be interest in that." he said and gave a small chuckle.

"Wait until you see him." Said Drax.

"Okay, I think I know what's going on more or less. Let's head back and work out a training program for young Rimuru here. Huh, such a peculiar name…"

"I picked it!" he said proudly. "From my favorite anime! That's where Tempest got his name too!"

"Should have known Garou would allow that…"

"But please, no one say anything to dad about this or mom. I want to surprise them both!" he pleaded.

"I'll keep that a secret, however, you got to tell them about your new job." Warned Drax.

"Job?" he asked.

"You just joined the Neo Heroes… it's a job… you'll be slaying monsters with us." Drax explained.

"Oh…" muttered Rimuru who just realized what he got himself into!


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

A few days would pass, everyone in the house appeared to be busy with one thing or another. Yet it troubled Melee that she couldn't tend to everyone at once. Tempest has his invite only tournament today, Drax and the other children who started a band just got their audition call, Suiryu has needed help as of late to curb his growing hunger. All in all, Melee was torn as to what to do. "It's okay if you don't make it mom, after all, this is a rather private event, I don't even think the public is allow to attend." Tempest explained.

"I'll go," said Garou. "If I get in great, if not… I'll break in."

"DAD!" Tempest protested.

"What? You don't think I can break in discreetly? Please!"

"That's not the point Garou," Melee said in a warning tone. "Tempest doesn't want you to make him appear bad before the others and the sumo federation. If you can't get in, don't break in!" she ordered.

His arms crossed as he pouted. "Take the fun out of it for me," he muttered.

"We're going to go alone too mom, we can't have you, dad or anyone in the family lingering around us, people will know instantly that we are the children of Garou… more or less." Yuuma explained.

"Besides, this is just an audition try out, according to the phone call I got, the twist is going to be announced when we arrive… huh, the contest hasn't even started and Amai is already throwing a twist into the mix…" said Jason.

"We better get going then, good thing we sent the gear ahead of time." Said Yuuma.

As the kids went their separate ways, Melee sighed aloud as she turned to Suiryu. His stomach was grumbling oddly this morning. "You okay?" she asked.

He shook his head. "I'm starving!" he protested. "I ate well yesterday now… I want a lot more,"

Garou sighed aloud. "I'll drop Tempest off at his tournament, perhaps it's best that we take you hunting then, find something big and meaty…"

His stomach quivered. "I think she heard you on that!" he laughed.

Melee gave credit were it's due. Suiryu has always been proud of his physic and right now he looks nothing like his former self, however not once as he complained about it nor cursed the notion that he has to ensure Alley and his child have enough to eat through him. He has taken it all in stride, and rolled with the punches to say the least. "Hey… Melee…" she snapped out of her blank gaze. The house had emptied except for the two of them. She turned to Suiryu who forced a smile. "I'm scared…" he said bluntly. "I… I don't even know what I am doing! How this is effecting everyone… Am I doing enough for her and our baby? I mean… what the hell am I doing!?"

Melee smiled, she helped Suiryu out of the chair and brought him to the couch to sit in comfort. When he was more comfortable, she grabbed a chair and sat across from him. His hands kept resting on his bloated stomach, he really was scared about all of this. "It's terrifying isn't it? To know you have two important people in your life who are depending on you to keep them safe and nourished… it's a lot to take in and accept."

"How did you and Garou do it?" he asked. "I mean, to him it's almost easy!" he paused. "Maybe it's because I am still not use to being what I am just yet…"

"Are you having second thoughts about staying as you are?" Melee asked.

He was silent for a moment, yet Suiryu sighed. "No," he said. "Besides, if I did turn human, I wouldn't be able to hold Alley again… Even that short time I was being human, all I wanted to do was embrace her. She has the best hugs you know!" He paused. "Still, Garou makes this look easy."

She snickered. "Needless to say, Garou and I have been through worst. But we never complained about how we have kids, especially after that incident where we had to take care of Genos, Amai and Snek! But Suiryu, you are going a great job so far, if you weren't. I am certain Alley would be giving you some terrible grief about it!"

"Yeah…" he muttered as he looked down at himself, but then a smirked. "You know, when those girls saw me again out on the streets. I wasn't this big but looked rather large, they were disgusted and turned their noses up at me." He said. "I never realized they were so shallow."

"The moment you gain weight they consider you no longer hot. Bitches man."

He laughed to her comment, however his smile faded. "Am I going to be a good dad? How can I determine I am going to after Boros? I mean, he practically raised himself… well… Luna kept kidnapping him…"

She snickered to the thought of it all, remembering it all too well. "Be that as it may, you think Garou and I were ready for kids when we had Alley and her brothers? Hell, neither one of us knew I was pregnant until Garou accidently enveloped me into himself and Genos figured it out! I think he was more embarrassed to the fact that Genos had to tell him that he was going to be a father than realize it himself."

He merely nodded as his hands caressed his belly once more. "I really need something to eat…"

"I'll make what I can and when Garou returns, we will take you out to get a good meal. Sounds good?"

He smiled and nodded. "Melee… thanks."

"No problem. Now, what are you in the mood for?"

"Anything that's food!"

#

Yuuma and the others made their way to City R. When they got the call, they were told that a van would come by and pick up their equipment for the tryout. Jason was confused by the sudden offer but figured it was perhaps to ensure no one was cheating when it came time to perform.

They made their way to the studio, everyone in their wolf costumes to say the least, yet the moment they walked in, the other bands that were talking about, suddenly fell silent to them. "So, this is them huh?"

"I thought they looked like freaks,"

"Ew, they look so dirty, Amai is going to turn them away instantly!"

Yuuma however was grinning from ear to ear, as his father stated, even if they aren't talking nicely about you, they are still talking about you. The mind games have already begun!

He took in the room and found very few bands caught his interest. There was one keeping to themselves in the far corner, but they all looked and dressed like Zombieman. "Zombie Apocalypse" whispered Jason. He then snickered. "I would have fit in perfectly with them!"

"No shit," giggled Yuuma. "We better sign in."

He went to the front desk and signed in for the band. The moment he passed the clipboard back, did a woman appear. "ATTENTION!" she called. "FOR EVERYONE PARTICIPATING IN THE BATTLE OF THE BANDS, PLEASE BE READY FOR YOUR FIRST TWIST. TODAY YOU ARE DOING AN INTRODUCTION SONG, THIS SONG MUST HAVE YOUR BAND NAME IN THE MUSIC!" she said aloud.

Some of the bands were panicking. Whispers began to flood from those who realized they didn't have anything to offer that would have their group's name. Yuuma turned to the others who smiled and nodded. They got a song already.

"ALSO, IF THERE ARE BANDS READY TO GO, WE WILL TAKE YOU NOW, YOU WILL RECEIVE BONUS POINTS FOR QUICK REACTION…"

"WE'RE READY!" Yuuma called the same time as the lead from Zombie Apocalypse. They stared each other down, neither one refusing to back off in a sense.

"Very well, you two with me," They made their way through the masses, until they stood side by side with the zombie band.

The assistant excused herself as she prepared the studios, the led from Zombie Apocalypse turned and glared at Yuuma. "What the hell are you suppose to be?"

Yuuma smiled. "Same thing as you, projecting an image. Name's Alpha."

The guy snorted. "Typical. I'm Rob Zombie, that there is Dead Zombie, then there's Rot Zombie, Cannibal, and Fester."

"Yeah, I got the jiffs of that," muttered Yuuma. "Good luck to you, you will make great rivals for my band and I."

Rob snorted. "If you make it that far."

"Bands, we are ready!" called the assistant. "Raise by wolves, you are in studio A, your equipment is set up. Zombie Apocalypse, studio B. After your song, you will be leaving the studio immediately, we will broadcast the results live next week for the first episode of the show."

"Cheery," whispered Akira.

"Good luck to you all."

With that, the bands went their separate ways. They entered the studio and checked their equipment. With everything in working order, Yuuma gave the nod as he stood before a recording booth. Within were sound technicians and producers. "Okay, raised by wolves, let's see what you got." Called the producer.

Yuuma nodded as he turned to the others, they gave a smile and nod back as they began to play.

How fortunate for them, one of the first songs they listened to on Alley's strange radio was a band called U2, and there happened to be a song of their called 'Raised by Wolves'. Yuuma altered the sound enough so that way he stays true to his own technique. His voice carried a bit of a heavy tone and yet still came across elegant enough to be heard. When the song ended, he turned to the producers who showed no emotion, not even a speck of surprise to say the least. "Thank you, that is all. Take the exit through the back."

"Huh, get ya in, get ya out huh?" said Drax. "Oh well. Let's go."

Now they need to wait a week and see what becomes of it.

They took the back way out and then sighed aloud. "That felt… weird." Said Luna.

"Wait until we start playing in front of people, those guys in the booth have to have a good poker face, they cannot hint if they like someone or not just to keep the playing field level in a sense." Drax explained. "Well, now that is done, what do we do?"

"I think I'll head back home, mom may need help with Suiryu. I haven't really done anything to assist as of late."

"Sounds good. I got to go to the Neo Heroes and check in," said Drax.

"We're just going to hang out and find something to do." Said Eclipsa. "Care to join us Jason?"

He blushed. "What the hell, why not!"

The band went their separate ways, Yuuma was walking home when he heard the monster warning system went off. He smirked as he learned that a very large demonic cow was in the area. "I hope Suiryu likes beef."


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

He was nervous.

Tempest stood in the arena with countless others. Some he saw at his official weigh in to become a sumo, and then there were others who weren't even there. He overheard many of their conversations. They are sons and close family members of former sumo wrestlers. Not quite Yokozuna caliber, but high ranked sumos. Tempest felt like the odd man out in a sense. The moment he walked in, the others fell silent to him.

Not a word spoken, nor eye contact given. His father had opted to let him go in alone, perhaps sensing those within. He wouldn't have helped the tension that continued to grow within the arena.

"Is that him?" someone managed to say.

"I heard rumors about him!"

"No shit! HE'S got the backing of a former Yokozuna?!"

This went on for a while. After all, one of the rules of this tournament is that you do not mention who has sponsored you, after all, mind games such as that can cause an unfair advantage. Tempest kept quite and waited for the whole thing to start. He sat in the locker room as it were with other sumos that were starting to become more relaxed and chit chatted about.

"You Tempest?" boomed a voice.

He looked up and saw a rather large sumo before him. The man could rival Oni himself. "I am," he said politely.

He merely smirked wickedly. "I'll end your hype. I heard about your little weigh in incident from a few days ago. Don't think you're king shit since you don't look your weight!"

"Thank you for the advice, I will keep that in mind."

A sneer followed from this strange sumo as he walked off, however everyone was staring at Tempest with great aw. "Are you serious!?" one demanded aloud. "How can you be so calm after that!"

He was rather confused to their amazement. "Calm? Was he supposed to scare me?"

The room went dead silent. "You don't get it, that guy… that guy had been training with Raiden!"

Tempest blinked a few times, just trying to process what the big deal was. "And?" he said.

The pale faces that followed wouldn't soon be forgotten. Nonetheless, he kept focus on what needed to be done, if anything it will give him a taste as to what a sumo tournament is like before he has to battle before crowds of onlookers.

#

"We're ready for you, everyone, please come out to the arena!" called a referee. Tempest stood and lined up with everyone else as they entered the arena. There were hardly any people in the seats, yet those who were there appeared to be watching them with a careful gaze. He saw Oni and yet, he also saw this very massive man sitting next to him.

'That, must be Raiden' Tempest thought. But he couldn't focus on that just yet. He has to get through this tournament first. He and the other sumos gathered around the ring, there the head of the federation stood and explained the reasoning for this event.

"Not everyone who has entered the federation should be kept on the same level if one is talented enough. You are all here for you are sponsored by those who have made a grand impact on our industry and have chosen you as the best to carry on the legacy of your sponsor. Keep that in mind when you step into this Dohyo."

He gulped his dry saliva, Tempest began to have second thoughts about all of this. 'Keep your head in the game' he heard the voice of his father.

Looking about, he didn't see him, but he must have seen or sensed his nervousness. It made him smile briefly for a moment as his mind got back into focus. "Now, due to the sponsors we have decided the matches. Two have the backing of a Yokozuna, therefor they will face off against each other."

Tempest felt the piercing glare of the man he saw earlier, he was grinning like a cat cornering a mouse. Tempest however bared no emotion and kept his face stoic, after all. The man is nearly the same weight as him, he doesn't understand yet who he is up against!

"Tempest Brawler, you have the sponsorship of Onimaru. You will face off against Haru who is sponsored by Raiden. To set the pace, gentlemen step up to the dohyo."

'I never thought I would be the one to go first… oh well…' Tempest thought. He made his way through the other wrestlers until he stood before the ring, with great care he stepped up and stood outside of it before disrobing. The moment he did, he heard snickering from the others.

"He's no sumo, look how skinny he is!"

"What a string bean!"

"He's going to get knocked out!"

Tempest let one lone smirk escape from his lip as he grabbed the bag of salt and began the process of purifying the ring. When finished he stepped into it and stared at his opponent. Haru was still grinning a wicked smirk, Tempest could see that he intends on harming him.

However he won't be given the chance to.

They stepped up to the center. Haru leaned in and whispered. "Nothing personal boy, it's just business."

Tempest nodded. "I hope you keep that in mind for yourself as well."

He saw a moment of weakness. Haru was slightly stunned to Tempest's tone as they took their positions. The match doesn't begin until both men have their hands on the ground. Tempest took the position but went for the spider stance. Making a fist, Tempest balanced himself on the closed hand. It's harder to get up, however going up against a large opponent would make it perfect.

Others began to whisper, granted, he was taller than Haru. But as his father always said. Keep them guessing.

"If they don't know what you are going to do, they cannot prepare for it. Why do you think I am training you on everything I know?"

Tempest smiled to himself, despite his father not being there physically, he's there mentally. "SPIRIT!"

It was like a clash of thunder. Tempest snapped to his feet as Haru came in charging. Yet the moment their bodies struck each other, the ring shook! Then, Haru was thrown back from the recoil, he stumbled yet kept to his feet. He was pissed off, and came at Tempest. His hand wide and managed to land a single slap across his face. The whole arena froze as Tempest didn't even flinch. With one open palm, he struck back, hitting Haru his chest. The air knocked out of him, and Haru was sent flying out of the ring and on to the floor.

No one moved.

Not a soul could quite understand what just happened before them. However Tempest stood strong, he showed no emotion or sense of pride to his accomplishment. Instead he bowed to his opponent, to the referee and then walked out of the dohyo in a dignified manner.

The other sumos parted as he walked pass them. His turn was up, now it was time to watch the others. However, the chairman of the sumo federation was quick to get to his side. "You need to come with me,"

Tempest froze. "Did… I hit him too hard?" he asked with worry. Was his career over before it even started? He blindly followed the head of the federation out of the arena. When they were away from the others he stood in the hallway, just as Oni came to him with the biggest grin on his face.

"Amazing! Simply amazing!" Oni said with great pride as he clasped Tempest's shoulders proudly. "You have what it takes!"

"That was ONE match!"

Tempest then saw the massive sumo who sat with Oni. "Raiden, that was your best student?" Oni asked with a smirk on his face. "You need to tighten up your training with them!"

He sneered, but then his eyes came down to Tempest. "You must be the prodigy he spoke of… and won't shut up about."

Tempest bowed meekly. "You must be Yokozuna Raiden. It's an honor to meet you."

"You won't be saying that soon enough."

"Raiden, please." The chairmen stated. He turned to Tempest and said. "You are a novice aren't you?" He nodded his head. "Oni, how long has he been sumo wrestling?"

He thought it over. "Well, I think he has been training seriously, maybe a month or two."

There was silence. "A MONTH OR TWO!" Raiden demanded.

"I have been training every day thanks to Oni and my father. I have learned every aspect of sumo wrestling and traditions that are to be enforced. My father is not lenient to say the least when it comes to my preparation."

"Still, you possess skills that are not normally seen in someone as tall as you. Let alone the body frame, however it is stated that you are over 700 pounds."

"This little man?" Raiden questioned.

"Be that as it may, I don't need to see anymore. I have witnessed much of Haru's matches to know what he is capable of. Most end with a single strike to the face, very much like the one Tempest here endured and didn't even flinch from. Let's not forget the swiftness of this match, this victory is no accident."

"You can't be serious…" Raiden said.

The chairman nodded. "Tempest, we no longer need to see what you can do for the rest of the tournament…"

"Am… I no longer welcomed to become a sumo wrestler?" he asked with worry.

"On the contrary. I want to make certain you are ready for the tournament coming up. Your official rank will be dictated depending on your performance. For I will have you face off against all those in the Komusubi rank. Depending on how well you do within that tournament… I will place you accordingly. Understood?"

Tempest was stunned yet nodded his head. "Yes sir," he said respectfully.

"Good. Oni… you have an eye for talent!"

Onimaru bowed respectfully. "Thank you chairman."

When the chairman left, Oni was beaming with pride as he turned to Raiden. "Finally, a worthy opponent for you." He said offhandedly.

Raiden stared down Tempest, but there was a look in his eyes, he was seriously thinking over what kind of match they could have. Tempest knew he had to get better at sumo before that even happens. Komusubi rank is nothing to sneeze at either. However he is going to be thrown into the sharks in a sense. This rank is where many make or break their careers, if they can get out of the Komusubi rank and move up, they can proceed onward. But he has read many who don't break out of it and fall in the system, never make it up again.

For that, he has to train harder than ever before.

Perhaps he sees what advice Pig God was willing to offer him…


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

"Wow… I didn't think you would drag it all the way home!"

Garou froze at the sight of the massive demonic bull. However, Yuuma was pouting. "I was going to kill it." He muttered. Yet by the sounds of it, as Yuuma made his way to deal with the monster, his brother Titan was already there and applying the death coil on it. He was too little too late and Titan proudly brought the beast back home, even dragging it up the mountain.

"How on earth did you accomplish that?! I doubt that thing would fit in the stairway!" Melee demanded.

Titan's chest puffed out proudly. "I found another way up and carried it!"

"I could have done that…" muttered Yuuma.

"Well, let's take this to the spar pit and cook it up. Suiryu is hungry which means your sister is hungry…"

Titan wasted little time, he effortlessly brought this monster up over his shoulder and began to carry it to the pit. Melee went inside to get Suiryu who was still hungry after the massive meal she made for him. Yet the moment his eyes saw that demonic cow, he rushed for it. Titan just got out of the way as fire erupted from Suiryu's mouth and he began to roast it within the pit. "Wow… I didn't know he could breath fire!" said Yuuma.

"I didn't either," said Melee. "Oh, how did your rehearsal go?"

Yuuma shrugged. "We played great, but I don't know if we got in, we won't know until next week to say the least. But there are a lot of other bands, I don't know if we are going to make it in."

"Oh you will, you got talent," Garou insisted. "If not, just sing anyways and post it online, make your own music career on the internet. You wouldn't be the first to do that."

"Wow. Great idea dad!"

Garou was about to continue until the smell of roasted beef began to fill the air. "Mmm, that does smell damn good."

"You want one, hunt it yourself. Suiryu is going to eat all of that no doubt." Said Melee.

"Yeah, he's been eating well for Alley and himself… he's okay with it?"

Melee sighed. "We had a heart to heart, he's scared, and there's no doubt about it. But he doesn't want to lose Alley. He confessed to me that he felt he isn't cut out for this, being half monster and a father. Yet, he is enduring…"

Garou nodded, despite it all. Even though Suiryu likes to be a show off, center of attention kind of guy. When it comes to Alley, he is far more settled. He cares for her deeply, so much so Garou is even shocked when he learned he rather be half monster for her sake. Suiryu's greatest fear was being unable to hold Alley in his arms again. With the fire dying down, Suiryu suddenly tore into the fallen monster, the meat ripped right off the bone with ease.

It was rather an amazing yet gruesome sight to say the least. "Damn, I have been rubbing off on him!" Garou said with a smirk.

"At least he takes sensible bites." Muttered Melee.

Suiryu devoured his prey within the hour, after he was full and satisfied yet couldn't move. It was cute though, Titan went down, coiled around him and let him sleep. "Titan, I can move him back into the house." Melee said gently.

"Don't move him, he's just settled in." Titan said in a whisper. "I'll take care of him mom, it's okay."

She smiled to him. "Okay, I am going to move you closer to the house though. Just in case if it rains or it gets too chilly."

Titan nodded as Melee esper lifted him and Suiryu up and brought them to the manga tree. There at least he could read if he wanted to as Suiryu rested up. "Well, that kid is a cuddler isn't he?" Garou said and smirked. "Got to admit, he's the best security blanket one could ask for!"

"Yeah, no kidding, look at Suiryu too. He's comfy!"

There was an odd smile on the face of Suiryu, he slept rather blissfully in the coils of Titan. Still, Garou wondered why Titan enjoys doing something like this…

#

KABOOM

"DAMN IT!"

"One more! One more and I swear to Boros I will wreck the place before you two find it!"

It had become a friendly contest among the cyborgs. Street, Knuckle and Bun-Bun had been spending their days taking out the labs of 106. So far it's 3-2. The brothers have been more efficient in taking out the labs than Bun-Bun much to her dismay.

"Sure thing, in fact we will give you a twenty minute head start!" Knuckle announced.

"Twenty minutes!" she protested. "This is a contest, not a pity party" She then paused. "Something's coming…"

The three stood at the ready, weapons drawn as they waited for whatever was approaching to come closer. "I'm not sensing organic… wait… a little bit… a cyborg?" Knuckle asked aloud.

He then appeared. His one infrared eye scanning the facilities until its sights came upon the three. "Drive Knight?" asked Bun

"Who?" asked the Brawlers.

"Who are your three?" Drive Knight demanded as he pulled out a rather large looking metal box. "Answer now, or be destroyed!"

"Yeah, nice luggage. We're Street and Knuckle Brawler. This here is Bun-Bun Bomb from the Association." Knuckle stated. "We're cyborgs, like you, question is, are you following us?"

"How do I know you don't work for the organization?" Drive Knight demanded.

"The what?" asked Bun.

"Like the Monsters association from what I read, but they are mainly cyborgs and robots." Street explained. He paused. "Why the hell would we work for them when they are constantly attacking our niece!?" he demanded. "Alley Brawler, Garou and Melee's daughter… Our sister is Melee… get the resemblance now?"

Drive Knight's guard lowered slightly. "Apparently they make anyone into a cyborg these days…" he settled himself. "Now, question is, why are you three here?"

"We could ask you the same thing. If you must know, we've been knocking over labs from the house of evolution. Some clones have taken up the cause and we are here to put them down. We like to make a game of it… I'm winning." Knuckle said proudly.

"As if!" protested Bun.

"You are behind, you got to catch up Bun," Street said with a smirk.

"If you three are quite done…"

The three paused as they turned to see Drive Knight some how sound annoyed to this conversation. "The Association… Perhaps I should visit the one in charge then…"

"That ain't happening for a few months to say the least." Knuckle laughed. "Besides, I am sure you were invited, but never replied until now. What's wrong? Got oil on the brain or something?"

Drive Knight said nothing. He began looked about and surveyed the damage. "You are mocking the whole process of these take downs." He stated. "In fact you three are acting like children."

"Are not!" protested Knuckle and Bun. But they snickered at the same time.

"You should take this far more seriously. As well, you have yet to be gathering up evidence against the house of evolution for their crimes. What have you kept from these raids?" he questioned.

"I've been recording the data to say the least and any notes we find we are keeping on hand for Alley when she is able to look them over. Whatever tests are in here are destroyed." Street explained.

Drive Knight however began to glare at him, almost piercing him with his gaze. "Are you truly?" he demanded.

"Why would I lie about it?" Street asked. "Now, you going to join us or do your own thing?"

Drive Knight didn't stay, he decided to move along and see what use he could be elsewhere. When he left, Knuckle took a deep breath and appeared rather bewildered to him. "No personality what so ever. Thank GOD an alien knew to keep that with us!"

"No shit." Said Bun. But she paused. "You…"

Street put his finger to his lip, Bun instantly stopped talking, knowing to take the hint. "Let's keep going."

He knew she wanted to talk about the other lab they came across. One that they didn't knock over but learned existed. It happened just a few weeks ago in fact. They were on the hunt for a lab that was in their data banks, however the location was odd. Not to mention, the notes recorded of this particular place were nothing like the others. "You got this, these notes, these aren't his typical ones 106 kept on tests. These are observation and weak points." Knuckle said.

Street nodded his head in agreement. The notes were assessing entry points as well as weak spots within the lab itself, however they were mere guesses. He hasn't used this one but it is active. "In City R of all places too, Amai's turf."

Knuckle nodded. "I don't think we knock this over, but merely knock and see if anyone is home." He announced.

Street agreed.

They found the hidden entrance in a dead end alleyway. Knuckle was quick to find the hidden door, a few press of the bricks and the pathway was revealed. The brothers took their time descending the stairs. "Huh, this place is really out of the way isn't it?" Knuckle said, but as they reached the bottom, there was a massive steel door. But also there was a speaker. Knuckle smirked as he approached. "Hello? Anyone home? The name is Knuckle Brawler. Can we talk? We ain't here to hurt anyone if you please."

There was no answer, and yet, the door opened.

The brothers froze as the path revealed itself. Opening into a stainless steel lab, and mysterious beings were all over the place along with clones that looked a lot like Genus! The place was at a stand still as the brothers walked in. Yet standing before them was a massive being that appeared more spider than man! "Who the hell are you!" he demanded.

"Knuckle Brawler, this is my bro Street… huh… how do we explain this…"

"We are currently taking out labs from 106, however this one was in his data bank. The notes we got on this place weren't of tests results and usage, but weak points, locations of entrances and possibly the number of people residing here…" Street explained.

Suddenly, the room appeared devastated.

"He… found us…" one clone whispered as he fell to his knees. "Where are we going to go now!"

"Take it easy 47,"

"How can I Eights!"

"Eights?" Knuckle asked.

The spider like man sighed. "My name… why are you telling us this?" he asked.

Street sighed. "You aren't harming anyone to our knowledge. In fact…" he paused and took in the room before nodding. "You have not harmed an innocent life since coming here. I am aware some of you have killed people, but murderers and what not to survive. We're cool with that. But the fact remains, 106 is eyeing you all and with us putting the squeeze on him, it won't be long until he comes knocking."

Eights nodded in agreement. "But… where do we go?" he asked. "We have nowhere else to turn to. No one will accept something like us walking the streets, we… we are as good as dead anyways."

"Hey, hey! We won't tolerate quitter talk!" protested Knuckle. "You guys ain't done for, we're going to help you"

The room froze, confused in a sense to his words. "Help us? Why would you help us? We're from the house of evolution! Half of the people here are clones of Dr. Genus, the other half are his experiments! Me included!" Eights stated.

"So?" asked Street. "Look man, in case you haven't noticed, we're not exactly people ourselves. We're cyborgs."

Eights paused but then nodded. "That's right… I don't smell any blood in you at all!"

"See, we're on similar playing fields here, but we are still gonna help you." Knuckle announced, he then began to think over where to bring everyone, but an idea soon struck. "Is Alley still using that place?" he asked Street.

"Not for a long time."

"It's heavily fortified…"

"Yeah, and we can increase security…"

"What are you two talking about?" one of the clones demanded.

Street smirked. "Pack your bags, you are all gonna come with us!"

They spoke with Melee and Garou on the situation, the two were hesitant to do anything since neither one knew of this hidden branch of the house of evolution, yet they heard Dr. Genus speak up for them in the background. "When you and Melee were kidnapped by 106, they were the ones who helped me find you" he stated.

"Good enough for me. Yeah, take them there." Garou announced. Street and Knuckle helped move the whole facility into the old lab of Metal Knight. There they would have security and a place to stay, as well, Alley made certain the place was rather hack proof and could defend if need be. They were also directly connected to the Association, a hidden path can be used to go back and forth if needed.

They had to do the move discreetly, however Street and Knuckle already knew 106 has probably caught wind of their sudden departure. Despite it, they brought everyone to the lab. There the clones and even some of the former test subject were impressed to it all. "This is the lab of Metal Knight…" one clone whispered.

"It was… Our niece now owns it, however she won't be using it for a while, so you guys can hang tight here and stay safe until we deal with the other branches of the house of evolution. For now, I think we have forced 106 to regroup, however I also don't know if perhaps we are pushing him to go farther with his tests…" Knuckle explained.

"If that's the case, we will help you!" Eights announced. "106 was one of the worst when it came to tests, he was never satisfied, even if it meant losing his subject and his possible success on said test subject… I lost too many good friends…"

"I'm sorry for your loss." Said Street. "We will accept your help if need be, but for now. Stay here, get comfortable and I'll show you how the communication system works so you can call us if you need anything."

They spent a few hours showing the clones how to call for help or even take out! However, all projects and tests that Alley was working on have been moved to the Association under lock and key. When the brothers were about to depart, Eights approached them and put out his hands, all six right hands he possessed. "Thank you," he simply said.

Knuckle smirked as he tried to shake all six, but gave up on the notion. "No problem. Take care,"

Since then, it's been a little secret between Street, Knuckle, Melee, Garou and now Bun-Bun who accidently overheard them. It was why Street hushed her the moment Drive Knight left. That particular cyborg rubs him the wrong way, and Street's on edge of him.

Until he can prove to be trust worthy, neither one of the brothers will let him in on their plans, not unless absolutely necessary!

Yet since their lab thrashing started, Street has noticed someone following them, and keeping a closer eye on him and his brother. Now he knows his stalker, but the question remains as to why?

Knuckle sneers at the notion. "It's because of him I haven't been able to make a move on Tatsu." He muttered.

"Tatsu?" asked Bun.

"He wants to ask out Tatsumaki." Street explained.

Bun was shocked. "You got a death wish?!" she demanded. Then paused, her head nodded. "King even agrees with me, you out of your mind!?"

Knuckle smirked and shrugged. "I like strong women. Besides, if she ain't interested in kids, I shoot blanks!"

"Oh God…" muttered Bun.

"Bro, please" Street begged.

"What?! It could be a selling point for a relationship."

"Let's keep going… I get a head start right?" Bun asked.

"Twenty minutes if you want it."

Bun pouted. "Just ten is fine,"


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

A week later.

The family was gathered around the TV.

The special was about to come on. "God, I can't believe we are watching a show with Amai in it…" muttered Garou as he shoveled in a mouthful of popcorn.

The whole family has gathered, they even invited Genus, Jason and Misty over to watch and see if the band made it in.

Garou had to smirk though, off to the side, Suiryu was passed out again from a nice large meal, and once more, Titan has wrapped him up in his coil and kept him there. He's been like that for hours! "Titan, if you need a break…" Melee began to say.

"I'm fine mom, really." He insisted. Garou still couldn't figure out why he enjoyed doing this, but it didn't matter anyways. Titan does what he does because he can! The show started. Yuuma, Jason, Luna, Eclipsa, Akira were all on edge, the only one calm through the whole thing was Drax!

The show started. Amai introduced himself, yet as he did, Athena began to snicker. "He's wearing one the outfits I made!"

The room giggled, he probably has no idea that he is wearing something his own daughter created. Nonetheless, ignorance is bliss.

"Hello you lovely people of the world, I am Amai Mask. Tonight we announce our contestants for a new reality TV show which I will be hosting… and assisting in judging. Yet in the end, the true judges are you, the viewer. So, let's begin! Our show will consist of various bands who are just getting started, should they make it into MY show… I will put them through the ultimate test!"

"You can tell by that smile he's thinking of something evil." Muttered Snek. "And they call me a snake!"

"Dad!" Drax protested. "Besides, we all know that. Let him think he's in control, it will be half the fun when he becomes devastated that his tricks and challenges won't work against us."

Each band was introduced one by one, he would hit towards their style and explain a little bit about the band before playing their audition tape. The first band was called the 'S Class Rockers' everyone was dressed up as an S Class hero. They were more of a fun, pop kind of band, stuff that kids could easily listen to. Next was an all orchestra group called Overturn. They sounded pretty good. Next was a girl band, "Sweet sixteen" they called themselves. They mainly focused on the two led main singers over everyone else who played for them. Much to everyone's surprise, Zombie Apocalypse made it in! "Wow, I didn't think he would bother with them" muttered Garou.

"They got the look, and it looks like they have the talent too." Said Drax. "I think they would be our main rivals."

There were three other bands, mainly cute little pop bands that appear harmless in a sense. Yet as the show came to an end, Yuuma and the kids were down, they weren't going to make it by the looks of it. "Now our final selection to the contest. This band… is rather particular to say the least. I myself had a difficult time deciding whether or not to bring them into this contest. However, I must be bias after all. I cannot overlook talent despite this band's appearance…" The screen faded to black.

Then the familiar sound of a keyboard filled the room.

Luna's eyes widened as the screen focused. Then Yuuma appeared on the TV!

"YES! WE'RE IN, WE'RE IN!" he cheered.

The kids in the band shot up off their seats and began to jump for joy. They were the final band selected!

"Well done!" said Genus.

"Congrats everyone!" called Tempest.

When they settled down, everyone regained themselves as Suiryu stirred. He yawned aloud and then appeared confused as he took in the room. "Wait… how am I…" then he turned to look behind him. Titan smiled and waved gently.

"Hi Suiryu…"

Suiryu appeared more confused than anything. "Wasn't I asleep at the Association this afternoon?" he questioned.

"You were, but Titan insisted on bringing you home to rest for the sake of Alley." Snickered Melee. "He's been keeping a close eye on you two, he appears to pick up on her needs as good as you."

Suiryu tried to move, but found himself pinned. "Uh… Titan…"

"No," he said defiantly. "You can't move just yet."

"Uh… someone help me out here?"

"Titan, why can't he move?" asked Garou.

"Alley is shifting right now, he tries to stand up he will fall over." He explained. "I am waiting for her to get comfortable again, when she is, I'll let you go, Suiryu."

He sighed but then he was stunned too, Titan must have coiled him in such a way that he doesn't feel Alley shifting, yet the moment he did, he listened to Titan and waited it out.

"This is remarkable, this family is all into something different and amazing activities." Said Genus. "Our children in the band, Tempest's sumo career starting in two weeks, Alley becoming a mother…"

"And things are just getting started." Said Melee, she sighed aloud. "Damn it, we're going to be busy aren't we?"

"Yeah," said Garou. "But it feels like normal family stuff… it's… nice," he confessed.

Melee leaned into him. "Yeah, it is." She said.

"Get a room," muttered Hunter, but then paused. "Actually, no don't do that. I got too many siblings as it is!"


End file.
